Saturday, January 11
Washington, DC
4:00 PM
George Washington University
6-10,0-3Atlantic 10
61
vs
66
Duquesne
14-2,4-0Atlantic 10
1
2
F
Duquesne
32
34
66
George Washington
32
29
61
Men’s Basketball Battles A-10 Undefeated Duquesne But Falls
1/11/2020 7:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON — After a pair of tight A-10 battles to open conference play against St. Bonaventure and at Saint Louis, two of the league's top-6 teams, the task for GW men's basketball Saturday against Duquesne promised no reprieve from the rigors of competition in one of the nation's top conferences. The Dukes came in at 13-2 on the season and 3-0 in Atlantic 10 play, but had their hands full with a resilient group in Buff and Blue that doesn't stop fighting.
Despite falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first half, the youthful Colonials showed no sign of lying down, and fought back to assume a three-point lead early in the second half. After Amir Harris gave GW that 37-34 edge, momentum swung back-and-forth in a final stanza that saw neither side lead by more than six.
With 4:44 to play, first-year Jameer Nelson Jr. knotted the score at 54-54 - the game's fifth tie - and less than a minute later brought the Smith Center crowd to its feet with a go-ahead three-pointer. After Duquesne's Michael Hughes and GW's Arnaldo Toro went toe-to-toe exchanging back-to-back-to-back big men buckets, it was Nelson Jr. again who blew the roof off the building by skying for an alley-oop off an Armel Potter lob.
That 61-60 lead was briefly held though, as the Dukes scored the game's final five points over the last 2:27 of the ballgame to take the five-point win, 66-61. Notably, despite the 0-3 conference record for GW, all three defeats came by exactly five points, speaking to the nature of the fight and future of the Buff and Blue, having fought against foes who entered play today 13-3 (Saint Louis), 11-5 (St. Bonaventure) and 13-2 (Duquesne); a combined 37-10 on the season.
For the second straight game first-year Jamison Battle paced his club in points and rebounds with his second-straight double-double. The sharpshooter from Minnesota canned six three-pointers in the contest on his way to a game-high 20 points, while also snaring a game-high tying 10 boards. Nelson Jr. joined his classmate in double figures with 14 points of his own in a game-high 38:43, while senior point man Potter came off the bench to log 37:34 of play and accumulate seven points with a game-high nine assists.
Uncharacteristic struggles at the free throw line helped undo GW as the team missed six freebies in the five-point game and finished 5-of-11 from the line.
The large and physical Dukes were able to muscle the win home on the strength of frontcourt tandem Marcus Weathers and Michael Hughes who finished with a combined 25 points (10-of-20 FG), 17 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Such is life in the Atlantic 10 with another match-up against a team that has enjoyed considerable early season success up next. In a Revolutionary Rivalry game, the George Mason Patriots invade DC Wednesday at 7 p.m. The first 3,000 fans to enter Smith Center will be given a tricorn hat as GW Athletics attempts to set a new world record for most tricorn hats in a building. Mason entered play today at 12-4 on the campaign.
Despite falling behind by as many as 11 points in the first half, the youthful Colonials showed no sign of lying down, and fought back to assume a three-point lead early in the second half. After Amir Harris gave GW that 37-34 edge, momentum swung back-and-forth in a final stanza that saw neither side lead by more than six.
With 4:44 to play, first-year Jameer Nelson Jr. knotted the score at 54-54 - the game's fifth tie - and less than a minute later brought the Smith Center crowd to its feet with a go-ahead three-pointer. After Duquesne's Michael Hughes and GW's Arnaldo Toro went toe-to-toe exchanging back-to-back-to-back big men buckets, it was Nelson Jr. again who blew the roof off the building by skying for an alley-oop off an Armel Potter lob.
That 61-60 lead was briefly held though, as the Dukes scored the game's final five points over the last 2:27 of the ballgame to take the five-point win, 66-61. Notably, despite the 0-3 conference record for GW, all three defeats came by exactly five points, speaking to the nature of the fight and future of the Buff and Blue, having fought against foes who entered play today 13-3 (Saint Louis), 11-5 (St. Bonaventure) and 13-2 (Duquesne); a combined 37-10 on the season.
For the second straight game first-year Jamison Battle paced his club in points and rebounds with his second-straight double-double. The sharpshooter from Minnesota canned six three-pointers in the contest on his way to a game-high 20 points, while also snaring a game-high tying 10 boards. Nelson Jr. joined his classmate in double figures with 14 points of his own in a game-high 38:43, while senior point man Potter came off the bench to log 37:34 of play and accumulate seven points with a game-high nine assists.
Uncharacteristic struggles at the free throw line helped undo GW as the team missed six freebies in the five-point game and finished 5-of-11 from the line.
The large and physical Dukes were able to muscle the win home on the strength of frontcourt tandem Marcus Weathers and Michael Hughes who finished with a combined 25 points (10-of-20 FG), 17 rebounds and six blocked shots.
Such is life in the Atlantic 10 with another match-up against a team that has enjoyed considerable early season success up next. In a Revolutionary Rivalry game, the George Mason Patriots invade DC Wednesday at 7 p.m. The first 3,000 fans to enter Smith Center will be given a tricorn hat as GW Athletics attempts to set a new world record for most tricorn hats in a building. Mason entered play today at 12-4 on the campaign.
Team Stats
DU
GWU
FG%
.440
.429
3FG%
.474
.308
FT%
.684
.455
RB
37
31
TO
17
11
STL
7
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
6
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
1
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
F
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