George Washington University Athletics
GW Men's Hoops Caps Saturday Doubleheader Versus UMBC
12/18/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2013
Washington Post: Lonergan recruits local, thinks national in rebuilding George Washington
22&G Blog: @GW_MBB's Creek Featured in Sports Illustrated
WTTG Fox5: The Zeek & Creek Show with Fox5's Scott Smith (12/15/13)
Comcast SportsNet: Coach Lonergan on CSN's SportsTalk Live with Brian Mitchell (12/17/13)
More GW MBB Media Coverage
WHO: GW Men's Basketball (9-1)
WHAT: 100th Season Game #11 vs. UMBC Retrievers (3-8)
WHERE: Charles E. Smith Center (4,338), 600 22nd Street NW
Directions to Smith Center | Parking Options | Public Transportation
WHEN: Saturday, December 21 at 2:30 p.m.
HOW: Buy Tickets
VIDEO: Free on RaiseHigh Live & A-10 Mobile App
AUDIO: FederalNewsRadio.com, 1050 AM (Byron Kerr) | WRGW Sports
STATS:
TWITTER: @GW_MBB | @GWGeorge | #RaiseHigh
INSTAGRAM: GW_MBB | GW_GEORGE
FACEBOOK: GWMensBasketball
PROMOTION: Holiday Hoops Doubleheader - GW Women's Basketball vs. North Carolina A&T at 12 p.m. - Tickets for either game are good for both games!
WASHINGTON - GW men's basketball looks to improve to 10-1 on the season when it hosts UMBC in the finale of a holiday hoops doubleheader at the Charles E. Smith Center this Saturday, Dec. 21. The Colonials will face the Retrievers at approximately 2:30 p.m., following the conclusion of GW women's basketball's game versus North Carolina A&T which tips off at 12 p.m. Tickets for either game are good for both contests.
At 9-1, GW is off to its best start since the 2005-06 season and tied for the eighth-best one-loss start in program history, matching a 9-1 start in 1955-56.
BEST ONE-LOSS STARTS IN GW MEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM HISTORY
2005-06..........26-1
1953-54..........19-1
1935-36..........15-1
1936-37..........14-1
1931-32..........11-1
1947-48..........11-1
1992-93..........10-1
1955-56..........9-1
2013-14..........9-1
The Colonials improved to five points in the also receiving votes category of both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 national rankings this week after reaching 9-1 with a 70-60 victory over Boston University on Dec. 11. Sophomore backcourt duo Kethan Savage (22 points, eight rebounds) and Joe McDonald (20/9) combined for 42 points and 17 rebounds, including 30 points and 13 boards in the second half to help the Colonials climb out of a nine-point deficit with 14 minutes remaining against the Terriers.
GW's success has been based around a balanced lineup that features six players averaging more than seven points led by graduate student Maurice Creek's 15.7 points per game. Creek is third in the A-10 with 26 threes on 46.4 percent three-point shooting, and has teamed with senior Nemanja Mikic (7.1 ppg, 19-40 3FG, 47.5% 3FG) to help the Colonials pace the conference in three-point percentage (42.6%).
Savage is second on the team with 13.9 points per game and is tied for 10th in the league in field goal percentage (53.3%) and eighth in steals (1.6 spg). Senior Isaiah Armwood adds 13.0 points per game, leads the league in blocks (2.6 bpg) and is fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.9 rpg). McDonald averages 9.2 points and 5.4 rebounds, is third in the A-10 in steals (2.1 spg) and assists (4.7 apg) and tops the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.1:1).
GW and UMBC will meet for the eighth time since 1988 and first time since the Colonials took a 4-3 series advantage with a 94-51 rout of the Retrievers at the Smith Center in November 2009. The Colonials own a 4-1 edge over the Retrievers at the Smith Center, winning each of the last four meetings in the building by an average of 29.5 points.
It will be GW Head Coach Mike Lonergan's 16th meeting against UMBC after going 11-4 against the Retrievers during six seasons as an America East rival at Vermont.
UMBC has lost six of its last seven overall, and all seven of its road games, to fall to 3-8 this season, most recently a 91-71 loss at Coppin State on Dec. 11. Seven of the Retrievers' 11 games have been decided by single digits, going 3-4 in those contests. Freshman guard Rodney Elliott has twice been named the America East Rookie of the Week and leads the team in scoring at 14.1 points and 3.6 assists per game. Senior forward Chase Plummer averages 12.6 points and team-best 6.5 rebounds in 19.4 minutes off the bench, while starter Malik Garner provides 10.9 points per game.
