Tuesday, December 5
Washington, DC
7 p.m.
George Washington University
7-2,0-0Atlantic 10
79
vs
77
Navy
2-5,0-0Patriot
1
2
OT 1
F
Navy
28
37
12
77
George Washington
33
32
14
79
Men's Basketball Throws Block Party, Tops Navy in OT Thriller, 79-77
12/5/2023 10:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
WASHINGTON - In the first of six-straight home games that carries the team through its A-10 opener next month, the George Washington men's basketball team went the distance and then some to finally put away a Navy team that as expected wouldn't quit.
Despite a first-half lead of as many as a dozen for GW, in the closing minutes the never-say-die Middies got a Donovan Draper three-pointer to make it a 62-61 game with just over two minutes left. After the teams traded hoops on the ensuing possessions, Navy got a stop and the ball with under 50 ticks left, and Draper stepped up again, sinking a jumper in the lane to give Navy its first lead of the night and a 65-64 edge.
Darren Buchanan Jr. went to line shooting two with 24.3 left and after missing the first, sunk the second to knot the game at 65. A frantic finish saw Navy miss a pair, one on Babatunde Akingbola's all-time program record-tying 10th block of the game, equaling a 47-year standing mark held by the Predator, Kevin Hall. Jacoi Hutchinson lost a ball out of bounds off a Navy strip and then GDUB survived a would-be game-winning half court heave at the buzzer to put another five minutes on the clock.
Draper gave Navy a 67-66 lead in the early minutes of overtime, before Garrett Johnson answered back to reclaim the lead on the ensuing possession. When Buchanan then converted an and-one, Draper went to bench having fouled out.
With 1:29 to play Austin Inge found an and-one of his own, putting Navy back up, 73-72. That's when James Bishop IV had enough and joined the and-one party, getting the hoop and the harm to put GW up a deuce in the final minute. Another Bishop bucket and Babatunde block later - his record-setting 11th - and GW sat pretty, leading 76-72 with 24.2 to go. Nothing was easy in this one though, as the service academy served up a three to bring the battle within one, and forced a GW timeout with 16.2 to play when the Buff and Blue couldn't inbound. But Bishop stepped up again. Two free throws later the lead was back to three, and despite another Navy bucket, a final Bishop free throw accounted for the final tally and GW survived on the other side.
The Navy press and highly-ranked defense forced 18 GW turnovers, too many of which were of the live ball variety, resulting in 20 Midshipmen points on the other end. In a contest that saw the home team outshoot the visitors by a whopping .474-.316, it was Navy's 20-9 edge in points off turnovers that made it a game. The free throw battle also factored in, with the Revolutionaries struggling through a 18-of-33 (.545) night at the line compared to Navy's 22-of-24 (.917).
Behind Babatunde's block party, GW set a school record with 15 total blocks, without nary a swat against them. The team also improved to 6-0 under Chris Caputo in overtime games.
Johnson and Bishop paced all GW scorers with 18 points, while Johnson double-doubled with a team-high 11 boards. Buchanan recorded his eighth-straight, double-figure effort with 14 points, putting three in double figures in a balanced scoring effort that saw eight score.
Up next for the GW Revs is a meeting with Coppin State at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the second leg of a doubleheader with the women's team who hosts Coppin at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Despite a first-half lead of as many as a dozen for GW, in the closing minutes the never-say-die Middies got a Donovan Draper three-pointer to make it a 62-61 game with just over two minutes left. After the teams traded hoops on the ensuing possessions, Navy got a stop and the ball with under 50 ticks left, and Draper stepped up again, sinking a jumper in the lane to give Navy its first lead of the night and a 65-64 edge.
Darren Buchanan Jr. went to line shooting two with 24.3 left and after missing the first, sunk the second to knot the game at 65. A frantic finish saw Navy miss a pair, one on Babatunde Akingbola's all-time program record-tying 10th block of the game, equaling a 47-year standing mark held by the Predator, Kevin Hall. Jacoi Hutchinson lost a ball out of bounds off a Navy strip and then GDUB survived a would-be game-winning half court heave at the buzzer to put another five minutes on the clock.
Draper gave Navy a 67-66 lead in the early minutes of overtime, before Garrett Johnson answered back to reclaim the lead on the ensuing possession. When Buchanan then converted an and-one, Draper went to bench having fouled out.
With 1:29 to play Austin Inge found an and-one of his own, putting Navy back up, 73-72. That's when James Bishop IV had enough and joined the and-one party, getting the hoop and the harm to put GW up a deuce in the final minute. Another Bishop bucket and Babatunde block later - his record-setting 11th - and GW sat pretty, leading 76-72 with 24.2 to go. Nothing was easy in this one though, as the service academy served up a three to bring the battle within one, and forced a GW timeout with 16.2 to play when the Buff and Blue couldn't inbound. But Bishop stepped up again. Two free throws later the lead was back to three, and despite another Navy bucket, a final Bishop free throw accounted for the final tally and GW survived on the other side.
The Navy press and highly-ranked defense forced 18 GW turnovers, too many of which were of the live ball variety, resulting in 20 Midshipmen points on the other end. In a contest that saw the home team outshoot the visitors by a whopping .474-.316, it was Navy's 20-9 edge in points off turnovers that made it a game. The free throw battle also factored in, with the Revolutionaries struggling through a 18-of-33 (.545) night at the line compared to Navy's 22-of-24 (.917).
Behind Babatunde's block party, GW set a school record with 15 total blocks, without nary a swat against them. The team also improved to 6-0 under Chris Caputo in overtime games.
Johnson and Bishop paced all GW scorers with 18 points, while Johnson double-doubled with a team-high 11 boards. Buchanan recorded his eighth-straight, double-figure effort with 14 points, putting three in double figures in a balanced scoring effort that saw eight score.
Up next for the GW Revs is a meeting with Coppin State at 6 p.m. on Saturday in the second leg of a doubleheader with the women's team who hosts Coppin at 2 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Navy
GWU
FG%
.316
.474
3FG%
.304
.292
FT%
.917
.545
RB
45
45
TO
11
18
STL
9
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
18
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's Basketball
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