Men’s Basketball Plays Host to American Saturday at 2:00

Saturday, December 29

Washington, D.C.

2:00 p.m.

George Washington University

American

12/27/2018 3:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Colonials will look to improve to 3-0 against local teams in their final non-conference game

WHEN: Saturday, 2:00 pm
WHERE: Smith Center
WATCH: ESPN+
LISTEN: WFED.com
NOTES: GW | American
PROMOTION: Hometown Heroes | Postgame Autograph Session

ABOUT AMERICAN: The Eagles come in with a 6-4 record after dispatching Maryland-Eastern Shore, 82-58, on Dec. 22 to snap a two-game skid. They share one common opponent with GW, having fallen to Howard 85-83 on Dec. 8, and they opened the season with a road overtime victory over a future opponent for GW in A-10 rival George Mason. Junior Sa'eed Nelson does it all for the Eagles, pacing the team in scoring (18.8 ppg), assists (5.1 pg) and steals (2.1 pg), while the 6-foot-2 guard is also chipping in 6.1 rebounds per game.

TIPPING OFF: The GW men's basketball team closes non-conference play on Saturday when it plays host to American University for a 2:00 p.m. tip in Smith Center. The Colonials will be looking to improve to 3-0 against area teams after previously knocking off Towson and Howard earlier this month.

LAST TIME OUT: Justin Mazzulla paced GW offensively with 11 points and four assists, but the Colonials fell in their final road non-conference game last Saturday at Harvard, 75-61. GW outshot the Crimson by connecting on 46 percent of its field goal attempts while allowing 42.9 percent shooting, but Harvard parlayed a 47-29 advantage on the glass into a 17-5 advantage in second-chance points. Maceo Jack joined his sophomore classmate in double figures with 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting (2-of-3 3PT).

SERIES HISTORY: American holds a 24-20 lead all-time in the series with the last meeting coming over a decade ago when GW took a 63-50 win at home on Dec. 17, 2008. The Colonials have won 10 of the last 11 meetings and hold a 10-9 edge in games played in Smith Center.

THREE-POINT THREATS: A pair of sophomores have been GW's main threats from the perimeter this season. Jack and Terry Nolan Jr. have combined to knock down 47 of GW's 71 triples this season with Jack connecting at a team-best .388 (19-49) clip and Nolan not far behind at .373 (28-75). Both Jack and Nolan have made at least one three in 11 of 12 games, and Nolan has knocked down multiple triples a team-best eight times.

INJURY BUG: Redshirt junior Armel Potter, who started the first six games of the season before suffering an ankle injury which kept him out of the next five games, returned to the lineup last Saturday at Harvard. In 11 minutes off the bench, Potter chipped in five points … while Potter returned, the Colonials were without the services of key reserve Justin Williams, who missed the game due to a knee injury … GW also remains without junior tri-captain Arnaldo Toro, who is out for the season with a hip injury.

TIP-INS: While DJ Williams failed to reach double figures in scoring for just the third time this season last time out, he continues to pace the team in scoring at 13.7 ppg … Mazzulla is the only Colonial to start in all 12 games this season and leads the team in assists and steals … first-year forward Marcus Littles saw a season-high 15 minutes of action at Harvard and turned it into a season-high seven-point outing.

UPCOMING: The Colonials have a week off before Atlantic 10 Conference play gets underway on Sunday, Jan. 6 at St. Joseph's. After that, they'll return home to host their conference opener vs. Dayton on Wednesday, Jan. 9.