George Washington University
Richmond
GW Men's Basketball Takes Revenge on Richmond, 73-61
2/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
RICHMOND, Va. -- In an Atlantic 10 showdown in Richmond, Va., the visiting GW men's basketball team came to town looking for revenge after the Spiders took a double-overtime thriller in DC last month.
Behind a game-high tying 16 points from Patricio Garino, all of which came in a second half performance in which the senior swingman made 4-of-6 shots from the field and all seven free throw tries, GW pulled away from Richmond late to earn the double-digit road win, 73-61.
With the win, GW improves to 21-7 overall, 10-5 in conference play and 7-4 on the road, the team's most road victories since 2010-11 and surpassing the 2013-14 NCAA Tournament team's six road wins. GW's seven triumphs on opponent's home floors is also tied for second-most in the A-10.
Garino was joined in double-figures by Kevin Larsen (14 points, nine rebounds), Joe McDonald (13 points, six rebounds) and Tyler Cavanaugh (13 points, game-high 12 rebounds), who extended his streak of scoring in double figures in every game as a Colonial in his double-double effort.
GW led 32-30 at the half after an opening 20 minutes that saw eight lead changes and three ties. The Colonials got half of their first half scoring from the point guard trio of McDonald (eight first half points), Alex Mitola (five in the first half, seven total), and Paul Jorgensen (three in the first half, six total), including a Mitola three with 18 seconds to play in the first stanza that gave the Colonials the lead at intermission.
The second half started close and the teams were knotted at 45-45 with 12:12 to play before GW started to pull away. A Jorgensen triple gave GW a 48-45 advantage at the 11:43 mark and the lead began to grow from there, as Richmond would not get within three for the rest of the game. The Colonials held a nine-point lead at the under 4:00 media timeout and saw their lead grow to 14 at its largest point.
Once again the Colonials made hay at the free throw line, easily eclipsing Richmond's 14 free throw attempts with 24 makes in 31 tries for a .774 clip as team. GW also bested their hosts, 38-32, on the glass, and held the Spiders to just 4-of-18 (.222) from three-point range after Richmond managed to make 11-of-19 threes when the teams met in Washington.
Overall, GW held Richmond to .421 shooting after the Spiders came in leading the league with a .491 mark from the field. The Colonials also limited Richmond point man ShawnDre' Jones to eight total points after he netted 29 in the Spiders' win at the Smith Center.
Up next for GW is a huge home clash with VCU on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on NBCSN, as the Colonials will look to sweep the season series from the Rams after winning for the first-time ever at VCU earlier this season. VCU is currently tied with Dayton and Saint Joseph's atop the A-10 standings at 12-3 in conference play, one game ahead of Saint Bonaventure in fourth and two ahead of the fifth place Colonials. GW's .750 overall winning percentage and 21 total wins trail only Saint Joseph's and Dayton among A-10 teams.
Notes
- Cavanaugh's double-double was his seventh this season which is second on the team behind Larsen (nine).
- With two assists, McDonald moved past Mike O'Reilly (1982-86) for sixth place on GW's career assists list (402). Larsen moved from 23rd to 22nd on GW's career scoring list (1,329 points), passing Mike King (1998-2001).
- GW hit just 5 of 10 free throws in the first half but knocked down 19 of 21 (.905) in the second half.
