Game of the Night
George Washington Colonials 70, Dayton Flyers 77
The Colonials went into Dayton Arena on Friday with determination; right from the get-go, George Washington proved that it wasn’t going down without a fight. Dayton climbed out to a comfortable 8 point lead in the first half; the Flyers led 23-15 with just over 8 minutes to go before halftime. Forcing turnovers and running the floor with purpose, Dayton was setting itself up with easy buckets. The Flyers looked as if they were going to run away with the game in the first half, but back came George Washington. The Colonials would go on to rattle off 11 unanswered thanks to 3 consecutive three pointers: 2 from Tyler Cavanaugh and 1 from Patricio Garino. The Flyers led 35-34 at the break.
Though the second half was just as highly-contested as the first, it clearly belonged to Dayton’s DyShawn Pierre. His three pointer with 4:04 left to play put the Flyers up 66-61; it would be a lead that they would never relinquish. Dayton would go on to hit its free throws down the stretch and close out for the win. The Flyers move up to 4-1 in conference play while George Washington falls back to 3-2.
DyShawn Pierre had an incredible night for the Flyers after tallying 26 points and 5 rebounds. He went 5 of 9 from behind the arc and also made all 7 of his free throw attempts. He was the star of the show for a Dayton team that’s been looking very sharp as of late. Charles Cooke and Steve McElvene also had good nights for Dayton with 15 points and 12 rebounds respectively. As a team, the Flyers had 15 assists and just 6 turnovers. Scoochie Smith did a great job distributing the ball, as he had 7 of these assists on the night; he also had 4 steals for Dayton. The Flyers next matchup will be on the road against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday. Mark your calendars; that will be a great game.
George Washington put up a very good fight against one of the best teams in the Atlantic 10 on Friday. Its poise, especially when falling behind early, is a huge reason we could see the Colonials make a run come March. In addition, Tyler Cavanaugh and Kevin Larsen have been nothing short of excellent. The two combined for 34 points and 17 rebounds. Geroge Washington’s size did serve to be a problem for the Flyers; the Colonials outrebounded them 40-29 and had 5 extra offensive boards. Free throw shooting was the reason George Washington lost this game. The Colonials came into this matchup as one of the best teams in the nation from the charity stripe. They hit just 5 of 15 attempts against Dayton. Meanwhile, Dayton, a team that’s been struggling immensely from the line this season, knocked down 16 of 17 attempts. George Washington will look to rebound when it hosts Rhode Island next Friday.
