George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
XAVIER
Men's Basketball Succumbs to Xavier, 76-69
1/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC -- George Washington started strong but was unable to hang on and fell to Xavier, 76-69, Sunday afternoon at Charles E. Smith Center. It was GW's first A-10 loss of the season and evened its league record at 1-1.
Damian Hollis led the Colonials with a game-high 23 points including 17 in the first half, on 8-of-22 shooting. Aaron Ware and Lasan Kromah added nine points each. Hollis also scored the 1,000th point of his career on his final shot of the game, a three-pointer with 36 seconds left. His first rebound Sunday was the 500th of his career.
Xavier (10-5, 2-0) was led by Jason Love's 19 points and game-high 13 rebounds (seven offensive). Jordan Crawford added 18 points and Terrell Holloway added 15 points including 14-15 from the line, to pace the Musketeers.
GW (11-4, 1-1) shot 59.3 percent (16-27) and led by as much as 11 in the opening half before taking a 41-30 lead into the locker room on a Hollis jumper with seven seconds left.
GW's shooting went cold midway through the second half and Xavier scored on 11 straight possessions in putting together a 23-4 run and turning a 60-50 deficit into a 74-64 lead with less than a minute left. The stretch included a 10-minute drought when the Colonials went without making a field goal. Hollis, who had hit 6-of-10 shots in the first half, managed just 2-12 shooting in the second half. As a team, GW shot just 31 percent (9-29) in the second half while Xavier shot 35.3 percent (12-34) and outscored the home team, 46-28 after halftime.
"It came down to their ability to get the offensive rebound, GW coach Karl Hobbs said afterward. "In the first half, we held them to three offensive rebounds, but they finished by completing 70 percent of them, so that's what it came down to."
The Musketeers outrebounded GW, 39-33, for the game and had a 16-12 edge on the offensive glass including a 13-7 advantage in second-half offensive rebounds.
GW travels to Philadelphia Wednesday to face La Salle (8-7, 1-1). The game is scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m. and will be televised on CBS College Sports Regional and broadcast live on 1050 AM as well as online at www.FederalNewsRadio.com.
