George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
HOLY CROSS
Men's Basketball Edges Holy Cross, 58-57
12/31/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2010
WASHINGTON, DC - George Washington's Dwayne Smith scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Colonials past Holy Cross, 58-57, Friday afternoon at Charles E. Smith Center. The win was GW's fourth in its last five outings.
In a game that saw seven lead changes and 13 ties, both teams struggled with their shooting throughout. The Colonials shot 40 percent (20-50) while the Crusaders managed just 37 percent shooting (17-46) from the field. GW also was ice cold from the line connecting on just 12-of-27 (44.4%) from the stripe. The Colonials' pressure defense played a major role in the outcome as the Crusaders committed 20 turnovers, the fifth time this season that GW has forced 20 or more turnovers.
Holy Cross (1-11) was led by Jordan Stevens and Josh Jones, each with 13 points. Stevens came off the bench to nail 3-7 three-pointers and a pair of blocks.
Eric Obeysekere converted a pair of free throws to tie the game at 53-53 with 2:30 left before a twirling layup by Smith put GW back up, 55-53. After another free throw from Obeysekere, Tony Taylor went the length of the floor and scooped in an acrobatic layup to put GW up 57-54 at the 1:42 mark. Holy Cross's Mike Cavataio then hit a deep three as the shot clock wound down to make it 57-57 with 51 ticks left prompting GW to burn a timeout.
After a miss by Taylor, David Pellom was fouled on the put-back attempt and converted 1-of-2 for what proved to be the game-winner with 00:39.2 left. Pellom finished with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
After the Crusaders' Andrew Beinert missed a 3-pointer, Pellom was again fouled with 2.6 seconds left, but missed the first free throw and intentionally missed the second. The ball was batted out of bounds with one second remaining, but the Crusaders' ensuing inbounds pass was tipped and intercepted as time expired.
GW shot 42 percent in the first half and led, 26-24, at the break.
GW (6-6) begins 2011 with a local tilt against the Howard Bison (2-9) on Sunday, Jan. 2, at HU's Burr Gymnasium. The GW-Howard game will tip at 4 p.m. (EST) and will be broadcast on 1500 AM and 820 AM, as well as at FederalNewsRadio.com.
