Men’s basketball (14-11, 5-7 Atlantic 10) ended its four-game losing streak with a 75-70 victory over Rhode Island (14-10, 5-6 A-10) on Tuesday night in the Smith Center. 

After dropping its last four games — three of which were by one score — the Revolutionaries were able to close out another close conference game and inch closer to .500 in A-10 play. The Revs used a strong first half to take an early lead and were able to fend off the Rams’ late attack. 

With senior forward Rafael Castro still out with an injury and junior guard Bubu Benjamin out of the lineup as well, graduate student forward Luke Hunger stepped up in their absence, scoring a career-high 21 points on 7-11 shooting and 6-8 from the line. 

When asked about his career-high performance postgame, Hunger said his belief in himself comes from his teammates. 

“As soon as I knew [Castro] was going to be out, I knew I had to step up,” Hunger said. “My teammates believe in me. It comes from them. They always told me, ‘You’re ready. We need you to play. We need you to step in.’” 

Redshirt junior forward Garrett Johnson added 17 points, going 7-10 from the field and 3-5 from beyond the arc. Off the bench, graduate student forward Tyrone Marshall Jr. added 15 points and six rebounds, giving the shorthanded Revs more scoring and defensive prowess. Junior guard Trey Autry had a quiet offensive night, only scoring five points, but added eight rebounds and led the team with two blocks. 

The Revs got out to a hot start, taking a 7-0 lead early and forcing Rhode Island Head Coach Archie Miller to take a timeout. But the Rams responded in kind with a run of their own, tying the game at nine at the 13:05 mark. 

Johnson and Hunger continued to produce for the Revs in the middle of the half. The Revs held a 21-11 lead with 7:15 to play in the first half and continued to build on it, taking a 34-18 lead into the break. The 18 points allowed in the first half were the lowest the Revs have allowed since the victory over St. Mary’s College of Maryland in December. 

Some early baskets to start the second half from Johnson and Hunger kept the Revs ahead by 16, but the Rams started to claw back in. URI cut the Revs’ lead to 10 with 17:14 to go, continuing to drive to the basket with success. Rams’ graduate student guard Tyler Cochran, who finished with a game-high 24 points, was effective at cutting to the hoop and finishing. 

After getting the lead down to 10, the Rams used a quick eight-point run to trail 40-36 with 14:48 left in the half, forcing the Revs’ Head Coach Chris Caputo to take a timeout. Out of the timeout, Johnson’s layup found nylon on an assist from Marshall, which kick-started the Revs to extend their lead to 10 again. 

Five unanswered points from Cochran kept the Rams afloat, but a catch-and-shoot three from graduate guard Tre Dinkins gave the Revs some breathing room as the half hit the midway point. A three from Hunger off an assist from junior guard Jean Aranguren gave the Revs a 60-50 lead with 7:00 to play, but the Rams stayed in with timely responses of their own. 

With five minutes left and the Revs up 65-59, Aranguren sprinted back on defense and swatted the ball away from URI, immediately spinning and finding a streaking Dinkins for an easy layup. 

Despite the Rams cutting the Revs’ lead to five late, GW held on to snap their four-game losing streak, and in the process, won a close game after their fair share of close losses. 

Marshall secured three of the 11 steals for the Revs, driving two of them to the basket. With the third-highest scoring of the game, Marshall said he and Hunger have been encouraging their teammates to see how close they are, given their experience in the NCAA tournament.

“I keep telling the guys, ‘We are right there,’” Marshall said. “Once we get the pieces of our puzzle back together and get them going with our players who are injured, and by the time the tournament comes, you are going to see us in the first round.”

With six conference games left for the team and only three of them at the Smith Center, Caputo said the players have remained focused on the end goal, despite the varied challenges throughout the season. 

“We’ve been tested a lot of different ways, more so than really it’s been like here for quite some time in terms of the schedule and then the injuries have tested us, and yet, I think guys have been hardened by those experiences,” Caputo said. 

While the Revs are currently playing with seven players due to injuries, Caputo said the energy continues to come from their bench. This evening’s roster managed to maintain a momentum consistent with games earlier in the season with the full roster.

 “I just think we’re keeping our foot on that energy thing as much as we can, knowing that, the normal basketball players, there are a little bit of this. But again, I think our bench has helped us tremendously today as well. So I gotta give them credit,” Caputo said. 

The Revs will next face off against George Mason this Friday night, also at the Smith Center.