GW Defends the District Vs. Howard, 85-75

Friday, November 11

Washington, DC

6 p.m.

George Washington University

2-0,0-0Atlantic 10

Howard

1-2,0-0MEAC

Team	1	2	F
Howard	32	43	75
George Washington	36	49	85

Qwanzi Samuels celebrates a 3-pointer vs. Howard

11/11/2022 9:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery

GW puts five in double figures to improve to 2-0

WASHINGTON - Two games. Two wins. The 2022-23 basketball season in Foggy Bottom is off to a heady start for GW men's basketball.

On Friday evening in D.C. in a crosstown rivalry, a feisty Howard foe came to GW and the Buff and Blue, backed by yet another raucous student crowd, was up to the challenge.

In just his second career game, Maximus Edwards — after sitting out his entire true freshman year at Kansas State — did a bit of everything to delight the Smith Center faithful. His new career highs of 18 points, two threes, eight rebounds and four assists, with an uncommon level of athleticism, got the crowd going, while Ricky Lindo Jr. and Hunter Dean otherwise led the way. The forward-center tandem was near unstoppable, with Lindo going for 19 points and nine rebounds while Dean chipped in 14 and nine more boards. The pair went a combined 10-of-13 from the floor, and as impressively as any other number on the night, coupled on a perfect 12-of-12 performance at the free throw line in a dominating effort. GW outrebounded Howard 39 to 22, leading to a 14-4 edge in second chance points in the 10-point game.

Though the win came by double-digits, it wasn't always easy with Howard looking for bragging rights too. The game featured six ties and five lead changes, but GW never let the Bison lead by more than a pair and held the lead for more than 32 minutes. Behind the work of Edwards, Lindo and Dean, Brendan Adams (14 points, 4-of-7 FG, 5-of-5 FT) and James Bishop IV (11 points) also found their way into double digits. In fact, Bishop -- the two-time defending scoring leader for the Buff and Blue -- was the fifth of the squad to eclipse the double-figure threshold, not doing so until just over four minutes remained, in a promising sign for an offense that won't have to just rely on Bishop's prolific ways. The combo guard from Baltimore was content Friday to set-up his teammates and landed a team-high five assists for his cause.

The Buff and Blue also made a living at the line against Howard, canning 23 freebies in 29 tries, while Howard went to the line 16 times in all. GW's bench was also a factor as Dean provided his output in a reserve role, with Qwanzi Samuels also coming off the bench to drain two triples in his 11:23 of play. While GW only went eight-deep, as opposed to Howard's 11 players who saw time, the home bench mob won that battle, outdoing the Bison 23-2 from the reserves.

Next up for GW is the biggest test of this short season to date. A trip to Hofstra looms on Monday as the squad looks for a true road win and a 3-0 start to the Chris Caputo era in Washington. Tip time from Hempstead, N.Y., is 7 p.m. on FloHoops.