George Washington University Athletics
Koundjia to Make GW Debut Against Wolfpack
12/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 30, 2005
Game 9
Date: Friday, Dec. 30, 2005 • Time: 7:06 pm (EST)
Location: RBC Center (19,722) • Raleigh, NC
Radio: WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM (Byron Kerr)
TV: Fox SportsNet South (Mike Hogewood, Dan Bonner)
Comcast SportsNet tape delay at 11:00 p.m., Dec. 31 12:00 pm
Series: NC State leads, 19-2
The Coaches:
GW COACH: Karl Hobbs (Connecticut `85)
Record at GW: 72-53 (.576) 5th season
Atlantic 10 Record: 32-32 (.500) 5th season
Career Record: 72-53 (.576) 5th season
Hobbs' Record vs. NCSU: 0-0
NCSU COACH: Herb Sendek (Carnegie Mellon `85)
Record at NCSU: 179-123 (.593) 10th season
Career Record: 242-149 (.619) 13th season
Sendek's Record vs. GW: 0-0
Tonight's Game: No. 12/12 George Washington (8-0) enters tonight's game after a 12-day layoff for finals and the holidays. GW last played on Dec. 17 at home. The Colonials put their unblemished record on the line tonight at No. 19/18 North Carolina State (10-1) in the 22nd meeting between the teams and first in more than 40 years. The Colonials aim to extend their eight-game winning streak while snapping a 19-game losing streak to the Wolfpack. NCSU owns a commanding 19-2 advantage in the series and have won the last 19 straight meetings after GW won the first two meetings in the series in 1932-33 and `42-43 (the year that GW won the Southern Conference title).
• NCSU comes into tonight's game having played three games since GW last played a game, most recently, an 81-62 win over New Hampshire Wednesday night at the RBC Center.
• GW junior F Regis Koundjia will make his GW debut in tonight's game at NC State. The 6-8 transfer from LSU has been practicing with the Colonials for the last year and a half after arriving from Baton Rouge. He sat out most of the 2004-05 season and the first semester of this season in order to satisfy academic residency requirements. Koundjia (pronounced "KOON-juh") will have the remainder of this season and all of the 2006-07 season of eligibility. He attended prep school approx. 96 miles from Raleigh in Laurinburg, NC.
• GW is 8-0 for the first time since opening the 1953-54 season 11-0.
• GW is coming off a 98-72 victory over Maryland-Eastern Shore Dec. 17. The Colonials shot a season-high 66 percent with 28 assists and held UMES to 39 percent shooting. Danilo Pinnock led the Colonials with 18 points while Pops Mensah-Bonsu snared 11 rebounds.
• Tonight's game marks GW's second against a nationally ranked ACC opponent this season. GW defeated then-No. 21/17 Maryland (78-70) on Dec. 5 at Washington's MCI Center.
• GW jumped one spot to No. 12 in both the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll (released Dec. 26) and in the ESPN Coaches' Poll. The No. 12 ranking is GW's highest since the week of Jan. 3, 1956 when GW was ranked 7th.
Next Game: GW travels to Philadelphia for the A-10 opener at Temple Jan. 4 at 6:00 p.m. (EST). The game will not be televised but will air live in the Washington area on WMET 1160, WAGE 1200 AM as well as via www.GWsports.com.
