George Washington University Athletics
Thursday, March 12
Pittsburgh, PA
11:30 a.m.
George Washington University
18-14,8-10Atlantic 10
66
vs
62
Fordham
17-15,8-10Atlantic 10
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
George Washington
38
28
66
Fordham
17
45
62
Men's Basketball Hangs On to Advance in A-10 Championship
3/12/2026 3:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PITTSBURGH - GW men's basketball saw a 24-point second-half lead dwindle on Thursday afternoon vs. No. 8 seed Fordham, but had just enough answers to finish the job in a 66-62 grinder of a win at PPG Paints Arena.
With the win, George Washington advances to take on top-seeded Saint Louis on Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the A-10 Quarterfinals. The regular season co-champion Billikens topped GW, 79-76, in Saint Louis on Jan. 27.
GW played as flawless a first half as it had in quite some time, leading by 21, 38-17, at intermission while limiting the Rams to 28% shooting and outrebounding the league's top rebounding team 27-9.
Luke Hunger made a three on the opening possession of the second half to extend the lead to 24, but Fordham found its rhythm offensively and slowly whittled the lead down to two in the final two minutes.
A trio of free throws from GW was answered by a 3-point play from the league's leading scorer Dae Dae Reaves, who scored 18 of his game-high 23 in the second half. GW though was able to execute the inbounds with Garrett Johnson surviving a trip and finding Jean Aranguren on the breakout that ended in an and-one layup with five seconds left. His first points of the game put GW up 66-62, putting the dagger in the Rams' comeback effort.
Christian Jones was excellent for GW, scoring a season-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a trio of first-half triples. Rafael Castro was perfect from the floor (5-of-5), scoring 15 points with nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists.
After being outrebounded by 18 in the regular season meeting with Fordham, GW was +13 on the glass Thursday and had a 17-2 advantage in second chance points.
Now, GW is back in the quarterfinals for the second straight year and will look to advance to the A-10 semifinals for the first time since 2014.
With the win, George Washington advances to take on top-seeded Saint Louis on Friday at 11:30 a.m. in the A-10 Quarterfinals. The regular season co-champion Billikens topped GW, 79-76, in Saint Louis on Jan. 27.
GW played as flawless a first half as it had in quite some time, leading by 21, 38-17, at intermission while limiting the Rams to 28% shooting and outrebounding the league's top rebounding team 27-9.
Luke Hunger made a three on the opening possession of the second half to extend the lead to 24, but Fordham found its rhythm offensively and slowly whittled the lead down to two in the final two minutes.
A trio of free throws from GW was answered by a 3-point play from the league's leading scorer Dae Dae Reaves, who scored 18 of his game-high 23 in the second half. GW though was able to execute the inbounds with Garrett Johnson surviving a trip and finding Jean Aranguren on the breakout that ended in an and-one layup with five seconds left. His first points of the game put GW up 66-62, putting the dagger in the Rams' comeback effort.
Christian Jones was excellent for GW, scoring a season-high 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including a trio of first-half triples. Rafael Castro was perfect from the floor (5-of-5), scoring 15 points with nine rebounds, four blocks and two assists.
After being outrebounded by 18 in the regular season meeting with Fordham, GW was +13 on the glass Thursday and had a 17-2 advantage in second chance points.
Now, GW is back in the quarterfinals for the second straight year and will look to advance to the A-10 semifinals for the first time since 2014.
Team Stats
GWU
FU
FG%
.460
.460
3FG%
.269
.286
FT%
.619
.625
RB
36
23
TO
13
10
STL
5
10
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
7
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
7
FGM
2
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's BasketballG
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