Men’s basketball (11-4, 2-0 Atlantic 10) took down La Salle (4-11, 0-2) 77-55 in the Smith Center on Saturday, opening their conference slate 2-0 for the first time since the 2014-15 season.
After trailing by 1 point midway through the second half, the Revs finished the game on a 32-9 run to put away the Explorers. Senior forward Rafael Castro — who scored 27 points in the team’s conference opener win on Wednesday — followed up that career-best performance with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
Castro was aided by junior guard Trey Autry, who had 17 points off 6/10 shooting, including 3/7 from 3-point territory. After struggling on defense for much of the season, the Revs held the Explorers to just 38% shooting from the field, their lowest against a Division I opponent since their Nov. 20 win against the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
Autry started the scoring for GW with an early 3-pointer, responding to a triple from La Salle. He added a second 3-pointer just four minutes later to punctuate a 14-9 GW lead.
With eight minutes left in the half, GW’s lead reached double-digits as they knocked down five early 3-pointers. A tip-in from redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson, who missed the past two games with an injury, sent the Revs to halftime up 36-31.
GW offense grew cold to start, as La Salle rolled a 9-0 run to take the lead off a free throw with 13:02 remaining following a turnover by graduate student guard Tre Dinkins. Redshirt sophomore guard Christian Jones responded with a 3-pointer that kick-started a 7-0 GW run to retake the lead.
Following two La Salle free throws, the Revs continued their scoring rampage, reaching a double-digit delta following two Castro free throws with 6:45 remaining. La Salle had difficulty shifting the momentum during the Revs’ run, scoring just 4 points in the final 7 minutes as GW closed out the game on an 18-14 scoring run.
La Salle plays the second slowest tempo in the conference, causing a pacing disparity with GW, who have the third fastest. A speed difference like this has caused the Revs problems this season, when they lost to the lowly University of Delaware, who rank outside the top 330 in tempo for Division I teams.
Despite La Salle entering the game ranking second in the A-10 with 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, the Revs smothered the boards, pulling down 47 rebounds over the Explorers’ 28. This manifested in 19 second-chance points for GW, holding La Salle to just 6 despite second-effort opportunities being a strong point for the Explorers.
Castro continues to stake his claim for A-10 player of the year with a strong game, bringing down nine of GW’s 14 offensive rebounds. He also blocked four shots and notched three steals as he dominated both sides of the floor.
On top of winning their first two conference games in a row since the 2014-15 season, the Revs broke a 24-year 3-point scoring record against Richmond earlier this week, connecting 17 shots on just 33 attempts for the most in program history.
The Revs will travel to Dayton to face off against the Flyers (11-4, 2-0 A-10) on Wednesday at 8 p.m., with the game set to be aired national on CBS Sports Network.
