College basketball teams rarely win by 53 points, or get two walk-ons in the scoring column, yet the GW men’s basketball team did both in its 97-44 exhibition rout of the Around the World Basketball team Monday.
It was a night of rare accomplishments for the Colonials that left fans smiling in the Smith Center. The 53-point margin of victory was only four points short of GW’s biggest victory ever, a 57-point blowout of West Virginia in 1973-’74.
GW used an effective fast break, pushing the ball on every possession, to open up an early lead on Around the World Basketball.
Alexander Koul’s follow-up dunk at the buzzer ended the first half and put the Colonials up 40-22. The outcome of the game was never in doubt in the second half.
As GW’s lead mounted, Coach Mike Jarvis went deeper into his bench. Even sophomore walk-ons Daniel Soares and Mark Lund got into the game in the final minutes, eliciting cheers from the remaining fans.
Both walk-ons scored, as Soares sank a three pointer, and Lund converted a layup off a fast-break pass from Rasheed Hazzard.
“I think that says a lot about the character of our team,” Jarvis said. “In a blowout, a lot of guys think `I’m going to get my points,’ but Rasheed had an easy layup and instead gave it to walk-on Mark Lund for his points. Those might be the only points he gets all year. That shows the kind of chemistry our team has.”
Jarvis had many reasons to be happy, especially the performance of Koul.
Koul led all scorers with 23 points to go along with eight rebounds. The senior center shot 10 of 13, blocked three shots and, most importantly, committed only two fouls in 24 minutes.
“I’m just trying to not commit the stupid fouls and be a little quicker,” Koul said.
“This is his last year, so there is definitely more of a purpose and a sense of urgency. He is working harder than he has ever worked before,” Jarvis said of Koul.
One scary moment came for GW during the game. A minute into the second half, point guard Shawnta Rogers fed Koul on one of the Colonials’ many fast breaks. Koul went straight for the basket for a powerful slam-dunk, which caused him to hit the floor hard. However, the 7-1 Belarussian shrugged off the fall.
“That’s why I take martial arts, to prevent myself from being hurt like that,” Koul said with a smile.
The Colonials were running all night. Senior Darin Green and juniors Yegor Mescheriakov and Rogers sparked the GW fast break with steals, crisp outlet passes and athletic plays driving to the basket. Mescheriakov chipped in with 15 points and eight rebounds.
“There was some nice old-fashioned basketball out there tonight,” Jarvis said. “A lot of nice things happened off of the pass. I still think that is the best way to play basketball.”
GW’s fast breaks and solid rebounding inside produced many easy baskets, resulting in 50 percent shooting. Freshman Antxon Iturbe led the team with 13 rebounds.
Around the World Basketball was inept on offense all night. The team shot 27 percent from the field and gave up 28 turnovers. Jarvis said the poor offensive effort was thanks to a tired Around the World team, rather than GW’s defense. Around the World Basketball was playing its eighth game in 10 days.
“It was probably their fatigue more than anything else,” Jarvis said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do on defense.”
The Colonials will play their regular season opener Friday in the Smith Center against Howard University in the first game of the Red Auerbach Colonial Classic.
“What concerns me about Howard is this is a big game for them to come in here and play us,” Jarvis said. “They’re coming in sky-high, so we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Freshman forward Pat Ngongba sat out of the game with a mildly strained groin muscle. Jarvis said the injury is not serious and Ngongba should be in the lineup for the season opener Friday.
(Photo by Josh Prezant)
