George Washington University
3-5
South Carolina
5-3
Battle Sets Season-Best in Loss at South Carolina
12/1/2019 6:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Rookie forward Jamison Battle finished with a season-best 18 points with six made 3-pointers, but a slow start by the visitors allowed South Carolina to hold onto a 74-65 victory over the George Washington men's basketball team on Sunday.
Redshirt senior Armel Potter continued his scoring ways with 22 points and has now scored 20 or more points in the last four games. Potter had a team-best six assists with just two turnovers in 39 minutes.
Battle showed why he was the reigning Atlantic-10 Rookie of the Week after he made four of his six triples in the second half and pulled down eight rebounds. Classmate Jameer Nelson Jr. added 13 points off the bench as the Colonials are finding instant offense off the bench each game.
The slow start hurt the Colonials who missed 11-straight shots early in the first half, yet trailed by 11 at the half (35-23) thanks to an adjustment on the defensive end to combat the sluggish shooting.
The Battle-Potter duo had a strong performance in the second half combining for 28 of GW's 42 points. Porter had a hand in 11 scoring possessions with 16 points and four assists.
GW found its stroke midway through the second, as Battle drilled a pair from the outside 23 seconds apart, and the Buff and Blue held the Gamecocks scoreless for two minutes to lower the deficit to single digits.
The Colonials had a chance to close within a two-possession game after Nelson connected on a long 3-pointer with 1:50 left, but a fast break layup by Jermaine Cousinard ended the hopeful comeback.
Maik Kotsar led the Gamecocks with 17 points and nine rebounds. AJ Lawson had 14 points and former Colonial Jair Bolden added 12 points.
GW returns to the Smith Center for its first of four consecutive home games beginning with Boston University on Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on the TuneIn app. Great seats are still available at www.getgwtix.com.
