Men’s Basketball Drops in OT to Duquesne, 91-85

Sunday, January 20

Washington, D.C.

4:00 p.m.

George Washington University

(6-12, 2-3 A-10)

Duquesne

(13-5, 4-1 A-10)

OT 1

Duquesne

George Washington

Armel Potter was one of five Colonials in double figures with 14 points

1/20/2019 7:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Colonials overcame an 18-point deficit before falling in the extra session

WASHINGTON -- What started slow on Sunday in Foggy Bottom turned into a barnburner late. It was Homecoming at GW and with some of the Buff and Blue's all-time greats back in the building, the Colonials wanted to put on a show. By the end an overtime session, some Homecoming heartbreak hit GW in a 91-85 defeat.

Early it was the visiting Dukes of Duquesne who enjoyed success, as they scored 20 of the game's first 22 points, but a key defensive switch to a 2-3 zone stemmed the bleeding for GW and for the second game in a row, the Colonials jumped on the comeback trail.

By the time the game had less than five minutes to go in regulation, what had been an 18-point deficit was within a possession, and junior transfer Armel Potter took center stage. A hoop-with-the-harm on a hard drive to the bucket gave Potter an and-one opportunity, and when he canned the freebie, the Colonials found themselves knotted at 69-69 with 4:31 to go. After the Dukes regained the lead, a 5-0 Maceo Jack run gave GW its first lead of the game, 74-71, with 1:37 to play in the second half.

Sophomore Javier Langarica, who topped his career-high scoring mark with 17 first half points, added two to his total at the free throw line with 1:07 left in regulation, but after climbing back in the 23-point swing, from down 18 to up 5, some fatigue gave way. The Dukes punched back and closed regulation on a 6-1 spurt, the final two of which came via a Michael Hughes (game-high 21 points and 14 rebounds) lay-in with :05 to go. GW couldn't get a clean shot off at the buzzer so the teams went to an extra session.

Once Duquesne accounted for the first eight points of overtime, an opportunity to knock off one the A-10's top records went by the wayside. There was plenty of good for GW on Sunday, with five men scoring 14 or more. Langarica led the way in his career night, while also recording his second career double-double with a team-high 10 boards and five blocks to boot. Sophomore point man Justin Mazzulla registered 16 points and a game-high tying eight assists against just a single turnover, while Jack (15), Potter (14) and the team's other junior transfer, DJ Williams (14) provided plenty of balanced scoring.

Ultimately it was the Dukes who hit the biggest shots when it mattered most, as behind Hughes' monster game (he also had seven blocks), Sincere Carry registered a 19-point, eight assist, six-rebound afternoon, while draining two the Dukes' eight threes. It was the three-ball that did GW in once OT hit as back-to-back three-pointers from Eric Williams Jr. (15 points) and Frankie Hughes (10) took some wind from the Colonials' sails.

As it goes in the A-10 and in college basketball, another opportunity always beckons. GW will now travel to Davidson for a Wednesday night tip at Belk Arena on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. against another top conference foe in the Wildcats. The Colonials play at George Mason next Saturday night at 7 p.m. before returning home to host the Fordham Rams on Wednesday, January 30th at 7 p.m.