(Photo courtesy of @GW_MBB)
FOGGY BOTTOM – 51 days. 12 games. It had been a long time since George Washington had won a basketball game.
But on the final home game of the season, and more importantly on James Bishop’s senior night, the Revolutionaries were able to get the job done. They were able to pull away at the end of the second half and beat St. Bonaventure 86-75.
Bishop led all scorers with 27 points on an efficient 8-13 from the field, 5-9 from three and 6-6 from the free throw line. He also tacked on six assists and three rebounds in a fitting end to his Smith Center career.
“Every time we win I’m like, ‘oh, we won because [Bishop] played great,’” said GW head coach Chris Caputo. “He’s one for the ages here.”
The game began at a blistering pace, with both teams shooting 4-6 from long range before the first media timeout (which occurred with 12:37 left in the first half after about four minutes of uninterrupted play.
GW’s hot shooting from three continued for the rest of the night, with them ending the game shooting 51.7% (15-29).
A potentially devastating moment for the Revs occurred as the first half was winding down. After a strong defensive possession, graduate center Babatunde Akingbola was called for a questionable shooting foul on Bonnies graduate guard Mika Adams-Woods, then was called for a subsequent technical foul after arguing with the ref. Daryl Banks III made both technical free throws and Adams-Woods made both of his free throws, turning what could have been a defensive stop into a four-point possession and eight point lead for St. Bonaventure.
With about seven seconds left, freshman guard Trey Autry subbed in, pulled up from deep and walked off the half with a three pointer, giving the Revs momentum heading into the break despite the technical foul.
Caputo felt like his team played a solid 20 minutes. He told his team in the locker room that they just needed to keep closing out their defenders and make a few minor offensive adjustments.
Whatever he said worked, as the Revs played their most complete half of basketball since at least their last win against George Mason on Jan.15, maybe of the entire season.
They took their first lead of the second half after back-to-back fast break baskets from redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. and freshman guard Jacoi Hutchinison. Then, after about four minutes of back-and-forth basketball, a Maximus Edwards three gave GW a 61-59 lead with 9:28 left in the game, and the Revs never looked back.
Raining 👌👌👌 in Smith! @maxgotgame2 gives us 12 on the night! #RaiseHIgh pic.twitter.com/oF6zvkIpHQ
— GW Men's Basketball (@GW_MBB) March 7, 2024
“We all have limits, but we can all be the very best version of ourselves within that. Tonight, that’s what we saw from [Edwards,]” said Caputo. “Catch and shoot, go get it on the defensive glass, give great effort, cut, he played like the way he should play because that version of him can be a very good player.”
Edwards, who came off the bench for GW, ended the game with 19 points, seven rebounds and shot an efficient 6-10 from the field, 3-6 from three and 4-5 from the free throw line in just 19 minutes. Most impressively, he had a game-high 20 plus minus.
The reigning A10 Rookie of the Year has had a rocky season for GW. Dealing with some minor injuries and going in and out of the starting lineup, it looks like Edwards may be hitting his groove as a spark plug off the bench.
The best play of the night came as the game was winding down and Hutchinson hauled in a defensive rebound and found Bishop with room to run in transition. With no Bonnies defenders in sight, Bishop rose up and threw down a right-handed slam (his off-hand) for what he later confirmed was his first collegiate dunk.
JAMES BISHOP IV ON SENIOR NIGHT 🔨🔨🔨
— A10 Talk (@A10Talk) March 7, 2024
With the game out of hand, Caputo subbed out Bishop in the final minute to as loud of an ovation the Smith Center has seen in recent years.
“I’ve been here for four years. I’ve had a really good time here. I love the crowd, love the community, love everything, love what GW stands for,” said Bishop. “To go off the court for the last time was bittersweet, but they showed me a lot of love so it felt great.”
Wednesday’s win not only let Bishop go out on a high note in front of the Smith Center crowd, but it also showed that this GW team may have a bit more fight left in them despite losing 12-straight games in conference play.
“I wish we could have stayed a little bit more healthy and maybe put it together just a little bit more but we’ve got a little bit more basketball to play and there could be more from [Bishop],” said Caputo.
With one game left in the season, GW is locked into the first round of the A10 Tournament, infamously known as the “pillow fight.” Depending on Saturday’s results, they now can fall anywhere between the 13th and 15th seed.
GW's seeding range in the A-10 is still 13-15 … pic.twitter.com/Ku7yOzG7n3
— Patrick Stevens (@D1scourse) March 7, 2024
The beauty of the A10 tournament is that everyone makes it and everyone has a chance, albeit GW will have a very difficult path that includes three straight potential games in a row with no days off.
With GW’s performance on Wednesday against St. Bonaventure, they showed that they have the potential for one last hurrah in Brooklyn.
Bishop has continued to be one of the most talented scorers in the country and can put the ball in the basket on all three levels.
Buchanan Jr. has established himself as an elite interior threat, and has recently begun to show off an improved three point shot. On Wednesday, he went 2-4 from three, tying his career-high in three-pointers made and setting a career-high in three-point attempts.
If Edwards remains engaged and efficient off the bench, he immediately vaults in the conversation of best sixth-men in the A10.
Hutchinson has flourished as of late as he’s solidified his spot in the starting lineup. Over the last six games, he’s averaging 14.5 points per game, 3.7 assists and 4.3 rebounds while shooting a scorching 53.3% from the field and 53.6% from three.
“It’ll be hard to keep [Hutchinson] off the All-rookie team with the way he’s been playing,” said Caputo. “He is playing 40 minutes like a veteran guard.”
A potential x-factor for GW going into the conference tournament is redshirt freshman forward Garrett Johnson, who hasn’t played in almost a month, last suiting up for the Revs on Feb. 13 against George Mason. Caputo confirmed on Wednesday that Johnson is still “day-to-day,” but that there is a chance he could play in Brooklyn.
“There might be a world, not today. Today there’s no world,” said Caputo. “He’d like to, he wants to play. Trust me, he wants to play. Here’s a guy who’s doing everything he can to play.”
Johnson has been dealing with lingering mobility issues stemming from the rare benign tumor in his left hip that kept him from playing for two-and-a-half years and required four surgeries and nine rounds of chemotherapy to get to a point where he could return to the court.
Even if Johnson is able to just play 15-20 minutes off the bench and act as a floor-spacing catch-and-shot presence, that would still be a valuable addition to GW’s already dangerous offense.
GW’s last regular season game is on Saturday at Duquesne at 2:00 pm. Duquesne is currently tied for sixth in the A10 with St. Bonaventure and would be the sixth seed in the tournament if the season ended today. The Dukes began conference play by losing five straight games, but have really hit their stride in February and March. They’ve won five of their last six, including a 69-59 victory over VCU on Tuesday. A win would guarantee the Dukes the sixth seed, while a loss and a St. Bonaventure win would slide them down to seventh.
The Revs will have their hands full on the road with one of the hottest teams in the conference, but if they are able to replicate Wednesday’s all-around performance, they should be able to compete with Duquesne.
Up to this point, GW’s season has been a disappointment. But, things could be turning around at just the right time. Anything can happen in March.
