Men’s Basketball Opens A-10 Play at Saint Joseph’s

Sunday, January 6

Philadelphia, PA

2:00 p.m.

George Washington University

Saint Joseph's

Heading into A-10 play, Maceo Jack leads GW in 3-point shooting

1/4/2019 4:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Colonials and Hawks are set for a 2 p.m. tip on Sunday in Philadelphia

WHEN: Sunday, 2:00 pm
WHERE: Hagan Arena | Philadelphia
TV: NBC Sports Network
LIVE STATS: Click here
NOTES: GW | SJU

ABOUT SAINT JOSEPH'S: The Hawks opened Atlantic 10 play at home on Thursday with an 85-60 loss at the hands of George Mason and go into Sunday's game with a 7-6 overall record. Sophomore forward Charlie Brown, a 6-foot-7 Philadelphia native, leads the A-10 in scoring with 20.3 ppg. The inside-out threat is shooting .455 from 3-point range, a mark which ranks second in the league. Junior guard Lamarr Kimble is contributing 17.5 ppg for a team that averaged 81.0 points in its first nine games this season but is averaging just 55.5 over the last four.

UPCOMING: GW welcomes back Capital City Go-Go General Manager, Olympian, former NBA player and Colonials basketball all-time great Pops Mensah-Bonsu ('06) to the Smith Center for Wednesday's Atlantic 10 home opener against Dayton. Festivities include a free commemorative poster, in-game interview, popcorn giveaway and much more.
-->> TICKETS

TIPPING OFF: After closing non-conference play in winning fashion with a home victory over American last Saturday, the GW men's basketball team takes to the road for its Atlantic 10 conference opener at Saint Joseph's on Sunday. Tip is set for 2 p.m. with NBC Sports Network televising the game nationally.

LAST TIME OUT: Behind career-best efforts from sophomores Justin Mazzulla and Javier Langarica, GW took down American 71-67 in overtime last Saturday. The Colonials used Langarica's first career double-double with career highs in points (15), rebounds (12) and blocks (5) to win their non-conference finale. Mazzulla's game continues to blossom as the second-year point guard from Rhode Island dropped in a career-best 19 points, including a pair of critical free throws down the stretch. His classmate and backcourt mate Terry Nolan Jr. was equally clutch from the line in OT, as he sandwiched five makes around a Mazzulla tip-in in a 7-0 run that turned a 64-61 American lead with 2:17 to go into a 68-64 GW advantage with :19 to play.

SERIES HISTORY: The Colonials are opening A-10 play vs. the Hawks for the third straight season, splitting the last two meetings. Last year, GW took a 70-64 win in Smith Center as Nolan scored 14 points and then-senior Yuta Watanabe had 18. The Hawks lead the all-time series, 36-27, including a 19-8 mark in Hagan Arena.

DEFENSE WINS: In each of GW's four wins, individual and collective defensive performances have helped pave the way. Most recently, Terry Nolan Jr. and the Colonials limited American's leading scorer, Sa'eed Nelson, to seven points on 3-of-10 shooting with six turnovers after he came in averaging 18.8 ppg. The Eagles were also forced into 20 turnovers, and Javier Langarica had a career-high five blocks. Nolan, a Preseason A-10 All-Defensive Team selection, also shut down Howard leading scorer RJ Cole (15 points on 4-of-19 shooting; came in averaging 20.8 ppg). That was part of a collective effort that saw GW hold the Bison to a season-low 64 points on .308 shooting after they came in ranked 11th nationally in scoring (88.0 ppg).

SOPHOMORE FOUR: GW's entire sophomore class has been in the starting lineup for the last five games, and each has had his moment to shine. Javier Langarica, a starter for the first time in his career, is coming off his best game with 15 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks vs. American. Maceo Jack had a career-high 23 points vs. Valparaiso, as he connected on 8-of-11 shots, including 4-of-5 from three. Nolan set his career-high with 24 points in the win over Towson. From his point guard position, Mazzulla has scored in double figures four straight games, including a career-high 19 vs. American.

THREE-POINT THREATS: A pair of sophomores have been GW's main threats from the perimeter this season. Jack and Nolan have combined to knock down 51 of GW's 77 triples this season with Jack connecting at a team-best .379 (22-58) clip and Nolan not far behind at .377 (29-77). Both Jack and Nolan have made at least one three in 12 of 13 games, and Nolan has knocked down multiple triples a team-best eight times.

TIP-INS: Mazzulla is the only Colonial to start in all 13 games this season and leads the team in assists and steals … GW picked up its first win this season after trailing at halftime when it defeated American in overtime last Saturday (trailed 33-29) … the Colonials bookended non-conference play with overtime games after not playing into OT in either of the previous two seasons.