George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
University of Vermont
Men's Basketball to Face Vermont on Wednesday
11/26/2018 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Colonials and Catamounts are set for a 7 p.m. tip in Smith Center
TIPPING OFF: Fresh off a 27-point home win over Manhattan, the GW men's basketball team looks to pick up its second home victory in a row as the Vermont Catamounts visit Smith Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: The Colonials shot a season-best 55.6 percent from the field and limited Manhattan to a .309 mark on the way to a 70-43 win on Saturday. DJ Williams led 10 Colonials in the scoring column with 16 points and Arnaldo Toro registered his second double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds. Terry Nolan Jr. also added 11 points thanks to 3-for-5 marksmanship from three-point range.
COLONIALS-CATAMOUNTS CONNECTIONS: Head coach Maurice Joseph is a Vermont graduate, finishing his playing career there after spending his first two collegiate seasons at Michigan State. He led the Catamounts to 24 wins in 2009 and 25 wins in 2010, including an America East Championship and NCAA Tournament appearance. Assistant coaches Chris Holm and Hajj Turner also have ties to Vermont: Holm played two seasons there, earning his degree in history in 2007, and Turner was an assistant from 2005-11.
ABOUT VERMONT: The Catamounts come in with a 3-3 record following a 69-61 defeat at the hands of Bucknell on Sunday. Junior forward Anthony Lamb leads the team with 20.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, as part of an efficient offense that ranks fifth nationally in turnovers (8.4/game) and 45th in scoring (81.0/game).
SERIES HISTORY: The teams have met just once: on December 27, 2008 at the Rainbow Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii, when the Joseph-led Catamounts took an 83-72 win. Joseph scored a team-high 18 points, including three clutch free throws down the stretch that helped seal the win.
DJ's DEBUT: In his debut season donning the Buff & Blue, redshirt junior DJ Williams is GW's leading scorer with 13.8 points per game. The Chicago native is hitting his stride as he's reached double figures in each of the last four games, including a career-high 17 at No. 5 Virginia on Nov. 11. He was also named to the All-Tournament Team at the Air Force Reserve Tip-Off Tournament when he averaged 14.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in games against No. 18 Michigan and South Carolina. Williams spent his first two collegiate seasons at Illinois, where in 46 career games his career-high in scoring was nine points. He looks to be the latest in a line of impact transfers who reinvigorated their careers with the Colonials, joining the likes of Tyler Cavanaugh and Patrick Steeves most recently.
TERRY FOR THREE: Sophomore Terry Nolan Jr. has shown off an improved stroke from long distance in the early going this season as he ranks fourth in the A-10 in three-point shooting (16-35, .457). The Baltimore native, who connected at a .319 clip as a first-year in 2017-18, has made multiple triples in all six games this year.
"AT" IT AGAIN: Junior forward Arnaldo Toro has been a consistent force for GW on both ends of the floor, registering 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while also leading the squad in steals (9) and blocks (6). The Puerto Rico native leads the league in defensive rebounding (6.7/game) while his total (9.0/game) ranks second. He has a pair of double-doubles (vs. Stony Brook and Manhattan), has led the team in rebounding in five of six games, and has accounted for 28 percent of GW's rebounds for the season.
TIP-INS: The Colonials had a season-high 17 assists, led by Armel Potter's six, in Saturday's win over Manhattan … walk-ons Luke Sasser and Malcolm Elashari-Rashed both scored their first career points late in the win; Elashari-Rashed recorded his on a pair of free throws, and then assisted on Sasser's fast-break layup … GW also finished with a positive margin on the glass for the first time this year (37-31).
