George Washington University Athletics
Taking a Step Forward
12/6/2018 12:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball, My GW: Celebrating our Stories
When head coach Maurice Joseph reached the GW men's basketball locker room after Wednesday's 68-64 victory over Towson, he found Javier Langarica slumped in his chair with his legs spread out looking like he'd just survived a prize fight.
In his first career start, the sophomore from Spain required stitches below his nose after a battle for an early rebound. The young forward dislocated a finger on his left hand in a second-half spill chasing a loose ball. Another time, the action was stopped to clean up his elbow, which was bloodied in yet another scrum under the basket.
Yet, Langarica was on the floor in crunch time to snare an important rebound and convert the ensuing free throws with 13 seconds left that helped the Colonials clinch a hard-earned victory over the Tigers.
That's why Joseph's first stop in the joyous locker room afterward was to greet the still-smarting Langarica, who the coach wrapped in a playful tackle to show his appreciation for a job well done.
"I told our guys in there, 'Our team two weeks ago, we probably lose this game,'" Joseph said. "Because we hadn't been through enough. We hadn't been callused enough.
"Our team needs to go through some things to experience them because we have young guys. I think those experiences helped us not have our legs get too wobbly when they punched back in the second half."
Playing in front of its home crowd, GW stood up to a Towson squad that's built its reputation on physical play. The Colonials allowed a 13-point first-half lead to turn into a seven-point deficit and then flipped the script with a strong closing kick behind a career-high 24 points from Terry Nolan Jr.
"We knew they had the momentum, but we knew we had to come out and still compete," said DJ Williams, whose 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting were also a career high. "We wanted to not only match their energy but go over the top with it."
The performance reversed a troubling trend for GW, which had fallen in back-to-back games in similar fashion. Against Vermont and Princeton, the Colonials seemed set to fight to the finish only to get hit with big runs that put the games out of reach.
On Wednesday, GW found the offense needed to put away Towson with Nolan leading the way. The sophomore from Baltimore scored 15 points over the final 14:31, including the go-ahead free throw with 4:23 left and back-to-back 3-pointers after that to help keep the Colonials in front.
"I just felt like I had the hot hand tonight," said Nolan, who hit double figures for the sixth time in nine outings. "Coach MoJo and my teammates constantly kept telling me, 'If you're open shoot it,' (and) 'Stop passing up open looks.' They just kept instilling confidence in me."
With Atlantic 10 play looming, GW proved it had the physical and mental toughness to pull out a tight game. Afterward, Joseph pointed to some winning plays that impressed him as much as the offensive highlights.
Despite a size disadvantage, the Colonials hung tough on the glass with guards Williams and Maceo Jack finishing as their leading rebounders. Nolan showed renewed energy on the defensive end and vocal leadership calling out instructions to direct a GW zone that forced 15 turnovers. Marcus Littles logged important minutes off the bench and drew a late charge.
"We just kept on battling and battling," Joseph said.
Then, there was Langarica, who earned the start in place of the injured Arnaldo Toro.
Langarica logged a career-high 31 minutes, despite taking a pounding down low. He had to earn the final two of his career-best eight points, fighting for a rebound in traffic and then calmly sinking the free throws that followed to make it a two-possession game.
Joseph said Langarica was ready for the moment because of the work he's put in, both during practice and on his own time. He delivered with a performance that figures to provide confidence heading into Saturday's game against Valparaiso and well beyond.
"He grew and took a step in the right direction, and our team grew and took a step in the right direction," Joseph said. "I'm incredibly proud of our guys. That's a tough, physical team up there."
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