Men’s basketball (16-9, 5-7 Atlantic 10) lost to Virginia Commonwealth (20-5, 10-2 A-10) 80-72 Wednesday, falling by 8 points against a top conference competitor.
VCU and GW are two of only four schools in the country to rank in the top 50 in scoring defense, field goal percent defense, 3-point defense and steals per game. GW’s leading scorers were sophomore guard Trey Autry and redshirt junior forward Rafael Castro, leading the effort with 23 points and 20 points, respectively. Autry had a career-high scoring effort while also tying his career-best 3-pointers made in a game with five.
The Revolutionaries began the game with an 8-0 run, led by three straight buckets from Castro. The defense then created five early turnovers from the Rams, forcing a timeout in the first five minutes.
GW’s stifling defense made its presence known in the first half, scoring 9 points off VCU turnovers in the first 10 minutes and achieving its highest lead against the Rams, 19-8, at the 11:56 mark. However, VCU’s defense underscored the next 10 minutes of the first half.
VCU responded with a 6-0 run, interrupted by a 3-pointer from Revs redshirt junior guard Trey Moss, but the Rams resumed another 5-0 run, where GW failed to score a bucket in over two minutes.
The first half ended with the Revs leading 36-35, following a final possession that ended in a missed layup for graduate student guard Gerald Drumgoole Jr.
VCU ranks second in steals per game in the A-10 compared to GW, which ranks first. Both teams ended the first half with five steals, but VCU had seven turnovers, while GW had six.
The second half began with VCU’s blazing 3-point shooting, scorching the Revs with six threes, forcing Head Coach Chris Caputo to call a timeout. VCU maintained a 9-point lead with less than five minutes left in the game. The Rams went 7-12 from behind the line in the second half, matching their 3-point makes in the first half on four fewer attempts.
The Revs were forced to take their shots outside the arc to get back into the game, with Autry hitting a clutch 4-point play to cut the lead to five with three minutes left.
However, GW failed to capitalize on its chance with multiple misses at the free throw line from redshirt sophomore forward Darren Buchanan Jr. and sophomore guard Jacoi Hutchinson, leading to a crushing loss to VCU as time expired.
Autry said after the game that the Revs’ loss was due to “slight mistakes,” like their lack of mental preparedness.
“We knew that if they, not just them, they’re a great team, but if anyone gets open shots, it’s gonna be hard to win,” Autry said.
Caputo said the game was within reach for the Revs, as his team has shown they can be a “second-half team” in prior games. But, he said they lost some of their defensive edge in the first half and didn’t finish plays at the rim.
Caputo said the Rams’ “older team” makes them built to succeed in the league compared to the Revs’ underclassmen-led team.
Out of the nine GW players who had significant minutes last night, only three have more than two years of collegiate of basketball under their belts, all of which are in their first years as Revs.
The Rams, on the other hand, had four starters who were at least seniors, including Joe Bamisile, who is currently in his fifth year in collegiate basketball, which includes the 2021-22 season when he played at GW.
“That hasn’t changed in college basketball. It’s always been the case. It’s just a little bit on steroids as of late,” Caputo said.
The Revs will travel to face Davidson on Saturday at 4 p.m.
