8:57 p.m. Hollis collects a defensive rebound and literally freezes there as he is being guarded, but no five second call is made. He is eventually fouled and hits both shots to put GW up 66-57, the game’s final score. The Colonials win. Check www.gwhatchet.com later tonight for more and Monday’s issue of the Hatchet for full coverage. Goodnight.
8:55 p.m. Gonzalvez pulls up and hits an NBA-range three to cut GW’s advantage to 63-57 with 21.5 seconds left. The Colonials have had trouble inbounding the ball, so this one is not over.
8:49 p.m. Hollis hits a pair of foul shots to give GW a double-digit advantage with a minute to go. The Spiders throw the ball away on the other end and the Colonials will have the ball and a 60-50 lead and 57.6 ticks on the clock.
8:45 p.m. Taylor fouls out on a close charge call after getting a steal and taking off on a fast break, so the Colonials will be without the services of their freshman point guard for the final 2:42. They lead 57-50.
8:42 p.m. Shifts in momentum are hard to notice at the time, but we may have just had one. Gonzalvez stole the ball from Witherspoon near midcourt and then took off and dunked while Witherspoon fouled him to cut GW’s lead to 53-48. Of course as soon as I type that, Diggs scores on the other end. The Colonials lead 55-48 with 2:52 on the clock.
8:38 p.m. GW still leading by 10, now inside of the four-minute mark. Hollis and Katuka have picked up blocks on recent possessions, putting the team tally at six. Interesting note: the Colonials have forced just eight turnovers while committing 15. Also interesting: this strange red barrel that they are using to shoot what appears to be miniature blue basketballs into the crowd.
8:33 p.m. Hollis just had a monster block with his wrist/forearm area that he tomahawked out of bounds. The Colonials lead by 10 with roughly six minutes to go.
8:29 p.m. WRGW’s Chase Carpenter just pointed out that Hollis has tied his career high with 13 rebounds tonight. The high was set in Wednesday’s overtime win over Charlotte.
8:25 p.m. Taylor with a 6-0 run all by himself and GW now has a commanding 51-36 lead with just over nine minutes to play. He hit his last three right in front of the Colonials bench and then stepped back and got pats on the back from Joe Katuka and Aaron Ware, with the rest of the bench emptying onto the court in jubilation as Richmond called timeout.
8:18 p.m. Hollis is whistled for a goaltend on what was almost an awesome block from behind off the backboard on Anderson. GW leads 41-34 with just under 12 minutes remaining.
8:08 p.m. Another Richmond three prompts Hobbs to talk things over with his team, whose lead is now cut to 32-30 with just under 17 minutes remaining in the game. The Spiders were getting the opportunities in the first half and just missing them, but they have heated up a bit as the second half has gotten underway. The fans, once lifeless, have started to become rejuvenated, which could play a role as the game unfolds – particularly in a place like this.
8:05 p.m. A foul-happy start to the second half, with three whistles in just over two minutes of play. Richmond just made two and got a three from Kevin Anderson, which Witherspoon answered with a trey of his own. GW leads 32-27 with 17:29 to play.
7:48 p.m. It’s halftime and the Colonials will take a 27-20 lead into the locker room. GW has looked okay thus far, but Richmond has been struggling mightily, making just one of six free throws and seven of 29 field goals. GW has out-rebounded the Spiders 24-16 and Diggs, Hollis, and Wilmore are still leading the way with six points each. Hollis has seven rebounds while Diggs and Witherspoon have collected five apiece.
We have a pretty awesome halftime show going on right now with a woman riding a unicycle on a roughly seven-foot high seat and tossing China bowls from her foot onto her head. She has about seven on her head already and just successfully tossed an additional four on in one fell swoop. Now she will go for five… and she gets it! She receives a very, very well-deserved standing ovation from the Robins Center crowd. Bravo, dish-tossing unicycle lady. Bravo.
7:46 p.m. Spider fans are unhappy after Wynton Witherspoon pushes Richmond’s David Gonzalvez in the back as he walks away after Witherspoon is called for the foul. Witherspoon appeared to catch an elbow or some part of Gonzalvez’s arm in the face during the play.
7:42 p.m. Tony Taylor picks up his third foul of the game and is replaced by Johnny Lee. The Spiders miss both shots from the line for the second straight time and missed a wide open three on the previous possession. GW is still up 25-19 at the 2:13 mark.
7:38 p.m. Richmond put together five unanswered to cut into GW’s lead but the Colonials have broken the run and are up 25-19 with 3:34 left in the half. The Spiders are having some serious trouble shooting the ball, missing open shots and even some attempts from the line. Diggs, Hollis and Wilmore are pacing GW with a half-dozen points apiece.
7:31 p.m. Rob Diggs hits a pair of free throws and follows it up by getting a steal near midcourt and coasting the other way to throw down a strong dunk. The crowd is completely silent as GW leads 23-14 with 6:20 to go in the first half.
7:25 p.m. Travis King took a spill after a Richmond basket a minute ago and he’s been grimmacing as he makes his way up and down the court since then. Wilmore drains another three and GW leads 19-14 with under nine minutes left in the half.
7:23 p.m. With 11:01 to play before the break, the Colonials hold a 14-12 lead after Noel Wilmore connects from deep and Richmond responds in kind.
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Good evening folks and sorry for the delay. We had some problems getting online at first, but those have been resolved. We join you roughly six minutes into the game, with GW leading Richmond 8-6. Junior Damian Hollis is leading the way with 5 points thus far, connecting on a three and scoring on a put-back. The Spiders downed the Colonials at Smith Center Jan. 10 to open the A-10 schedule.
