George Washington Colonials 82 Hofstra Pride 80
Having surrendered a double-digit lead by way of 9-0 Hofstra run in the final two minutes of the game, things were looking pretty bleak for George Washington. But in his last ever game at the Charles E. Smith Center, Senior Alex Mitola finally got to play hero. Tied with 12 seconds left, Mitola drove down the court and drained a step-back shot at the buzzer to give GW the 82-80 win. The Colonials advance to the second round of the NIT and will next face Monmouth on the road Monday at 7PM.
GW controlled the majority of the game, taking their largest lead of the game with 8:34 remaining on a Yuta Watanabe breakaway dunk to lead 70-58. But Hofstra would not go quietly; they slowly chipped away at the deficit down the stretch and were able to slice through the Colonials’ defense in the last minute for easy baskets. Juan’ya Green tied the game with 12 seconds left with a backdoor layup before Mitola’s game-winning shot.
Tyler Cavanaugh lead George Washington with 20 points, including his 1,000th career point on a floater midway through the first half. Patricio Garino, Kevin Larsen, Joe McDonald and Alex Mitola combined for 47 points in their last game at the Smith Center. Yuta Watanabe also added 15 points for the Colonials. Juan’ya Green lead the CAA regular-season champion Pride with 26 points in his last game in a Hofstra uniform.
The Colonials will play at Monmouth later this week, and the winner will advance to play the winner of Florida and Ohio State for the right to play in Madison Square Garden in the NIT Final Four.
