George Washington University Athletics
Men's Basketball Closes Homestand vs. La Salle
2/6/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Senior forward B.J. Johnson is the Atlantic 10's top scorer at 21.4 points per game, with his 13 games with 20 or more points also leading the league. He's coming off a 25-point outing in La Salle's 81-78 win over Saint Joseph's on Saturday. Redshirt junior guard Pookie Powell gives the Explorers another high-scoring veteran, as he comes in averaging 17.7 ppg. La Salle owns a 1-7 record on the road, including 0-5 in league play, though two of those losses came in overtime and four have been single-digit setbacks.TIPPING OFF: GW closes a three-game homestand on Wednesday as the La Salle Explorers visit for a 7 p.m. tip with the game set to be televised regionally on NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Philadelphia. After Wednesday's tilt, the Colonials head back on the road for matchups at George Mason (Feb. 10) and Massachusetts (Feb. 14).
LAST TIME OUT: Yuta Watanabe was the lone Colonial in double figures with 20 points as GW fell to Davidson 87-58 on Homecoming last Saturday.
SERIES HISTORY: GW holds a 22-17 advantage in the series, which has seen the home team win each of the last six games. The Colonials are 15-4 at home vs. the Explorers, including a 90-50 victory back in 2016. La Salle took last year's lone meeting in Philadelphia, 79-69.
MAZZULLA TAKES THE POINT: Freshman Justin Mazzulla has been inserted into the starting lineup as the primary point guard the last two games and performed admirably. Against Duquesne last Wednesday, he dished out seven assists against two turnovers in his first career start, and he followed with five assists and one turnover on Saturday. He set a career high with his 32 minutes Wednesday before logging 31 minutes against Davidson.
STARTER SHUFFLE: After using the same starting lineup for the first 16 games of the season, GW has been in search of the best unit as of late, having used a different combination in each of the last five games. Most recently, GW used a four-guard lineup vs. Davidson, with Mazzulla, Jair Bolden, Terry Nolan Jr. and Yuta Watanabe starting alongside forward Patrick Steeves.
NOTABLE NUMBERS: Freshman reserves Maceo Jack and Javier Langarica both set career highs with seven points apiece on Saturday ... Watanabe's 20-point outing was his second of the season, while he's also hit 19 points three times ... Steeves leads the team with three 20-point games after he had 23 last Wednesday ... In A-10 play, Bo Zeigler leads the league in blocks (2.2/game) ... Nolan Jr. has hit double figures in scoring eight of the last 11 games, and in A-10 play ranks second on the team with 10.9 ppg ... The Colonials rank third nationally in fewest personal fouls per game (14.2) ... Watanabe ranks first in the A-10 and 18th nationally in minutes per game with 37.0 and is one of three Colonials averaging more than 30 minutes per game (Bolden - 35.1, Nolan Jr. - 30.4).
