George Washington University
15-13, 7-8 A-10
Massachusetts
13-15, 3-12 A-10
Men's Basketball Runs Away From UMass, 83-67
2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score | Quotes | Photo Gallery 
WASHINGTON -- In a game for the scrapbook for Patrick Steeves, the grad student put on an offensive exhibition in an 83-67 GW win against UMass on Thursday night at the Charles E. Smith Center.
Steeves had his way with the Minutemen in a career-best offensive outing. His 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting represent a new high-water mark, while he also set up his teammates with a game- and season-high five dimes, including a rim-rattling dunk that Yuta Watanabe threw down on the other end of a Steeves' alley-oop to give GW a 15-point lead and effectively ice the game away with 3:26 to play. For good measure, Steeves also had a stat-sheet stuffing five rebounds, two steals and a block in his 33 minutes of action.
With the win, GW (15-13, 7-8 A-10) pulled into a three-way tie for 8th place in the conference with Davidson and Fordham, just a game behind George Mason and La Salle who are tied for sixth at 8-7 in league play. The Colonials and Patriots of George Mason renew their Revolutionary Rivalry in the Smith Center on Sunday at 2pm in a massive clash for A-10 positioning after GW previously downed Mason on the road this season.
Not to be outdone by his fellow graduate student, Tyler Cavanaugh put on a clinic of his own. In his 11th 20-point game and 10th double-double of the season, Cavanaugh registered 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds, to lead a GW effort on the boards that dominated UMass, 41-29, in rebounds.
While the game turned into a rout late, GW had to fight to come back against UMass. The Colonials fell behind early and trailed by eight late in the first half before closing to within two at the break. After the intermission, when GW Athletics' 353 Academic Dean's List student-athletes were honored, it was the Colonials' offense that took the honors. Steeves, Cavanaugh and Jordan Roland combined to shoot 17-of-24 (.714) from the field in the second half, including 5-of-7 from three-point range to combine for 41 of GW's 45 points in the 20-minute stanza. Watanabe had the other four.
It was a familiar formula for the three-and-D Colonials to secure victory as the league's top three-point shooting team connected at a .500 clip from deep in the contest (7-of-14), while holding down the Minutemen to 6-of-26 (.231) from long range. As a team UMass connected at a .403 mark from the field in the contest, including a .323 (10-of-31) rate in the second half when the Steeves-Cavanaugh-Roland connection outdid UMass as a whole, 41-27.
For the game GW shot .534 from the floor, .500 on threes and .700 at the line compared with the Minutemen's .403, .231, .688 ledger. UMass placed two in double-figures in scoring with Zach Lewis' 16 points leading, followed by 12 from DeJon Jarreau. Roland also reached double figures for GW with his 15 points as the Colonials got 43 points from their reserves.
Following the Colonials' Sunday clash with the Patriots and chance to get back to .500 in the conference after starting A-10 play 1-4, GW finishes its regular season quest for A-10 Championship seeding with a road game at Fordham on March 1st followed by Senior Night at the Smith Center on March 4th at 8pm vs. conference front-runner Dayton.
