Game of the Night
# 20 George Washington Colonials 82, DePaul Blue Demons 61
George Washington, after it had been looking so good recently, got blown out on the road to a sub-par DePaul team. After sneaking into the rankings, the Colonials are likely to find themselves outside of the top 25 after they were unable to even put up a fight against the Blue Demons. The bottom line was that DePaul hit its shots and George Washington did not. The Blue Demons shot 55% from the field and 44% from three. The Colonials were just 34% and 15% in those respective categories. Leading the way for DePaul was Billy Garrett Jr. with 20 points. George Washington was led by Kevin Larsen with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The first half was all Demons. DePaul was red hot from all over the floor as it went on to lead by as many as 19 before the break. George Washington was able to make a dent in its deficit, only trailing by 12 at the break, but Blue Demons would extend that lead back up to 20 right out of the locker room. Even when the Colonials would string together a couple of buckets, the Blue Demons would continue making shot after shot until its opponent had no chance of coming back. This was a huge win for DePaul and a frustrating loss for George Washington.
DePaul’s next matchup will be against Georgetown a week from Wednesday when the Blue Demons open up Big East conference play. DePaul will undoubtedly have its fair share of difficult games in a Big East that is absolutely loaded this year. George Washington will have one more matchup before heading into Atlantic 10 conference play. The Colonials will go on the road to play UCF on Tuesday.
Elsewhere in A10 Action
Wagner Seahawks 60, George Mason Patriots 71
DeAndre Abram was the star of the show for the Patriots when they got a much needed win over Wagner on Tuesday. The freshman scored 27 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, a new career high after he dropped 24 over the weekend. In addition, Marquise Moore had a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards. George Mason improves to 6-7 after its win over the Seahawks. Its next mathcup will be a conference opener at VCU.
Presbyterian Blue Hose 44, Richmond Spiders 74
The Spiders are slowly beginning to reassert themselves into the conversation as a potential NCAA Tournament team. They already boast wins against California, Northern Iowa, Wake Forest, and Old Dominion. Even though Presbyterian is by far an inferior opponent, Richmond dominated the Blue Hose (I can’t even type that with a straight face). Terry Allen was the MVP with 19 points and 10 rebounds; he tallied his fourth double-double on the season. Next up for the Spiders is an away game against Texas Tech before opening up conference play at home against the St. Joseph’s Hawks.
St. Joseph’s Hawks 79, Virginia Tech Hokies 62
St. Joseph’s went into the Barclays Center and dominated what was supposed to be a fairly even matchup with the Hokies out of Virginia Tech. Isaiah Miles had a career night when he scored 36 points and pulled down 15 boards. He also made 11 of his 12 attempts from the charity stripe. You can’t forget about DeAndre’ Bembry either; arguably the team’s best player put up a cool 22 points and also grabbed 7 boards of his own. With wins over Temple, Old Dominion, and Illinois State, the Hawks are beginning to prove that they can contend in a highly competitive Atlantic 10 conference. Next up for St. Joseph’s will be a home matchup against Maryland-Eastern Shore on Tuesday.
Fordham Rams 55, Boston College Eagles 64
The Rams were unable to top the Eagles out of Boston College when the two teams met at the Barclays Center. Though Fordham kept within a couple possessions the entire game, Boston College made its free throws in the final minute and was able to outlast the Rams who had their 9 game winning streak snapped. Fordham finishes the non-conference slate of its schedule at 9-2. Its next matchup will be especially difficult when the Rams visit George Washington in their conference opener.
#13 Miami Hurricanes 95, La Salle Explorers 49
The Hurricanes had no problem taking care of La Salle as they managed to shoot better than 53% from the floor to blow the Explorers out of the water. Miami was led in scoring by Ivan Cruz Uceda with 20; Tonye Jekiri had a double-double as he scored 10 points and pulled down 14 boards. La Salle struggled to put points on the board as it shot just 30% from the floor. Leading scorer Jordan Price went just 2 of 11 from the field for 6 points. The Explorers lose their fourth straight game and have a matchup against Florida Gulf Coast before beginning conference play.
Rhode Island Rams 65, Old Dominion Monarchs 71
Despite being down by double digits for the majority of the first and second halves, Rhode Island had some fight left in it as it ultimately made this a much closer game than it really was. The Rams struggled shooting the basketball all night long; they shot just 35% from the field and 25% from three point range. Meanwhile, the Monarchs were led by Aaron Bacote and Trey Freeman who combined for 52 points on the night. Jared Terrell led the way for Rhode Island with 15. The Rams will have a road matchup against Brown next Wednesday before conference play.
Buffalo Bulls 69, VCU Rams 90
The Rams got a much needed win Tuesday night after dropping three straight games to tough opponents. The most encouraging part about this win for Rams fans was the improved play of Melvin Johnson. After going 0-11 against Cincinnati, the senior hit 7 of his 11 field goals to lead his team with 22 points. VCU needs him to play at the highest level possible if it wants to bounce back from a difficult start to the season. The Rams play Liberty on Sunday and then North Florida the following Wednesday.
Miami Redhawks (OH) 63, Dayton Flyers 64
The Flyers survived a scare from in-state rival Miami. Though the Redhawks led by two at the break, Dayton regained its composure and took an 11 point lead with just over 10 minutes remaining in the game. But back came Miami. Over the next 9 minutes, the Redhawks would go on a 22-10 run to take a 1 point lead going into the final minute of the game. Kyle Davis made a jumpshot with 3 seconds left that would end up being the game winner. Charles Cooke was the player of the game for the Flyers as he led the way with 21 points. This is the second time in the last three games that Dayton has allowed an inferior opponent to play a very tight game. The last time that happened, the Flyers lost an embarrassing home contest to Chattanooga; they’re lucky that this one didn’t like that. Next up for Dayton will be a home game against Arkansas next Wednesday.
St. Bonaventure Bonnies 70, Siena Saints 73
No discredit to the Saints, but the Bonnies should’ve been able to win this game given the sheer amount of turnovers that Siena committed. The Saints gave the ball away an incredible 25 times, but instead of taking advantage of the giveaways, the Bonnies added 20 of their own. It was an ugly game in which neither team took many shots; 45 turnovers leads to very choppy basketball. Both teams shot the ball at similar rates from the floor, and this game ended up coming down to free throws. The Bonnies committed 23 fouls, leading to 15 free throws from the Saints. St. Bonaventure was led by Marcus Posley and Jaylen Adams who each had 18 points. The Bonnies will face Niagara at home next Wednesday.
