George Washington University
Bowie State (Exhib)
Men's Basketball Tops Bowie State, 86-80, in Exhibition
11/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
In the Colonials' exhibition debut for five freshmen, transfer students Jaren Sina and Patrick Steeves, plus interim head coach Maurice Joseph, GW men's basketball took down Bowie State, 86-80, in exhibition play at the Charles E. Smith Center on Saturday afternoon.
Former GW assistant Darrell Brooks' Bulldogs gave the Colonials a tough test and held a 12-point lead at its largest, before the young GW squad met the adversity and rallied to out-score Bowie State 51-36 in the second half to secure the win.
"I loved the fact that we were forced to figure out how we were going to respond," said Joseph. "We have a young team, a lot of young guys who have never played before that we have to rely on for us to be good. This was a great first example of what happens when you come out flat."
Graduate student Tyler Cavanaugh led GW with 18 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, while junior Yuta Watanabe had a team-high 19 points -- all coming in the second half -- and eight boards. Freshman center Collin Smith chipped in 16 points and eight rebounds while swatting two shots in his first taste of game action at GW.
"That was a good first showing for (Collin)," said Joseph. "He's long and athletic and has a rim protector aspect that we haven't had since Isaiah Armwood."
Enuoma Ebinum put forth a game-high 20-point effort and grabbed nine rebounds for the gritty dogs, who won the turnover battle, 13-11.
"These games are kind of funny because you don't really get an opportunity to scout the other team because nobody has played yet," noted Joseph. "Their whole team did a great job. Give credit to them."
Graduate student Patrick Steeves also scored in double-figures for GW with 12 points on an efficient 4-6 shooting from the floor.
GW dominated the glass to the tune of a 50-32 rebounding edge, and shut-out Bowie in second chance points with a 10-0 edge after limiting the Bulldogs to just one offensive rebound.
As was customary last year, the Colonials won the game within the game at the free throw line by making more freebies than the opposition attempted, as GW sunk 29 free throws compared to Bowie's six attempts.
After allowing the Bulldogs to shoot .588 from the floor in the first half, GW made defensive stops on Bowie State's first 11 possessions of the second half to pull ahead 45-44. After falling back behind, 54-52, Smith had seven in a row to give the Colonials a lead they wouldn't surrender.
"We're a young team, so each opportunity we have to step out there is important," said Cavanaugh. "They punched us in the mouth but I think we responded well to come out in the second half, and that was good."
Up next for GW is the season opener on Friday night against UMES at home at 7pm.
