The Colonials recorded their first loss of the season after traveling to Long Island to take on Hofstra Monday, with senior guard James Bishop netting in a career-high 44 points.
The Colonials (2-1) were locked in a hard-fought battle with the Pride (3-0) all game, but Hofstra pulled away at the end with a 9–0 run that secured them the win. Bishop’s 44 points are the most points a GW player has scored in a game since the Colonials entered the A-10 in 1982 and the most any player has scored in the country so far this season.
Bishop finished just five points shy of alumnus and former NBA player Joe Holup’s 49-point all-time school record in 1956.
“He took 24 shots, but 44 points and 24 shots is a hell of a night,” Head Coach Chris Caputo said in a post-game interview. “He’s pretty efficient in that regard, I definitely think he’s a guy who should be considered an all-conference player and potentially the player of the year.”
Caputo said the team struggled to press the Hofstra offense from entering the paint. He said they took time learning how to adjust to the 3-point scoring, allowing the Pride to take advantage.
Graduate student guard Brendan Adams hit double figures for the third straight game with 15 points, followed by senior forward Hunter Dean who put up 10.
Redshirt senior guard Aaron Estrada led the Pride with 33 points and five rebounds while shooting 6 for 10 from the 3-point line. Redshirt senior guard Tyler Thomas scored 17 points for the Pride on a .508 shooting percentage.
Hofstra kicked off the game with a 9–3 run while the Colonials quickly fell behind at the top of the first half. GW started to gain momentum with a 3-pointer by senior forward Brendan Adams before entering a 5-point run in the final 10 minutes.
The Pride did not back down, holding on to a firm 27-20 lead after a 3-pointer from Estrada to keep the Colonials at bay in the final seven minutes of the game. Freshman guard Maximus Edwards supported the GW offense by drilling a 3-pointer to kickstart the Colonials’ 7-point run of the final seven minutes but were only able to chip down the lead 23-29.
Hofstra regained possession with a final 11-point run that ended the first half with an 11-point lead for the Pride. The Colonials were left scoreless in the final two minutes as they could not move their offense back into the paint, marking a 37-48 score for the half.
“We played a number of different defenses by man played zone, the press couple of verses, we played different pick and roll coverages as the game goes on, and especially because of Estrada’s shotmaking ability, we really needed to adjust to him,” Caputo said. “Obviously, there are other guys, are very good as well, in particular, Thomas made two threes, and they got some good shots making off the bench as well.”
After the break, the Colonials switched to a zone defense that sparked a 7-point run that brought them back into the game, with Bishop guiding the team. Hofstra eventually was able to overcome the Colonials defense hitting six 3-pointers in six minutes to pull ahead with a 68-64 lead.
Bishop countered the Pride with a 3-pointer that gave GW a 71-70 lead with five minutes left. But the Hofstra team regained possession and entered a 5-point run that would earn their win for the night.
The GW offense entered the game with a leading A-10 field goal percentage as they shot at a .547 clip from the floor while netting 11 3-pointers, marking the team three-straight games reaching the 80th point threshold for the first time since 2018.
Caputo took his initial statement at the post-game interview to talk about the events at UVA in Charlottesville, where he said he was “deeply saddened by the events.”
“It’s very, very disheartening to think that college students who were on a field trip and still very bright futures ahead of them were killed the way they were killed,” Caputo said in the post-game interview. “Obviously, it can happen anywhere in this country, but now it was the university setting where people should be saved. It’s just very, very sad to me that this keeps happening in the United States, I want to just extend my condolences to everybody in Charlottesville.”
The Colonials will play four home games that kick off on Friday against Maryland Eastern Shore. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be available on ESPN+.
