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 The
George Washington Colonials outscored the Saint Joseph’s Hawks 17-5
over the final 4 minutes to emerge with a hard fought victory, 74-68.
GW’s Chris Monroe led the way with 24 points and 8 rebounds. Monroe
was mainly responsible for the disparaging number in free throws
between the two squads (GW 39, SJU 25). Monroe alone attempted 19
free throws.
The game was nip and tuck throughout the entire 40 minutes. GW opened
the game with a 7-0 run. Pops Mensah—Bonsu, the Colonials’ center,
slammed home two monstrous dunks in the early going. The Hawks
countered with a 7-0 run of their own.
With the score knotted at 7, the game experienced a tie or lead change
on the 17 possessions when either team scored. Neither team gained
more than a 2 point advantage until GW’s TJ Thompson sank a
three-pointer to give the Colonials a 27-24 lead.
The Hawks ended the half on a 7-2 run. The run was capped off by a
Dwayne Jones dunk. Jones’ dunk enabled the Hawks to forge a 31-29
halftime lead.
Two Washington-area stars (Monroe and Delonte West) led their teams in
scoring for the first half. Monroe bested West by 2 points, 11 to
9.
Never seeming to click for most of the game, the Hawks got off to a
shaky second half start. Saint Joseph’s had back-to-back turnovers
and then Dave Mallon missed both free throws. Nevertheless, the Hawks
were in the game the whole time.
After a basket by Dwayne Jones gave the Hawks a 45-44 lead, GW
converted 6 straight free throws to recapture the lead, 50-45. When
Jameer Nelson was rung up with his 4th foul with over 10
minutes remaining, Delonte West took over for the Hawks and did some
damage. He scored the team’s next 7 points to tie the game. Soon
after, West was whistled for his 4th personal foul.
Saint Joseph’s almost used some major momentum to pull out the
victory. Pat Carroll went bonkers. He drilled three straight
three-pointers. The final three-pointer gave the Hawks their largest
lead of the game, 63-57. It was then that GW embarked on the
finishing 17-5 run.
Mike Hall, held scoreless in the first half, scored all 9 of his
points during the run. TJ Thompson hit a running bank shot to give
the Colonials the lead, 70-68. West then took the ball strong to the
hoop. The Hawks clamored for a foul but were not given one. After
Hall made both free throws, the Hawks tried to get a quick two. But
John Bryant was unable to handle a pass from Tyrone Barley. The ball
sailed out of bounds and the game sailed away.
In additional to Monroe’s 24 points, Mensah—Bonsu had 13 points and
Philly native Omar Williams delivered 11 points and 8 rebounds. The
Colonials shot an impressive 43% against the Hawks, who had entered
the game allowing opponents a mere 35% FG. GW connected on 27 of 39
free throw attempts.
Saint Joseph’s was led in scoring by Delonte West’s 18 points. Pat
Carroll pumped in 17 points, including 5 three-pointers. Dwayne Jones
had a career-high 11 points and 8 rebounds. Nelson was limited to 8
points on 2-for-10 shooting.
The Hawks shot a brutal 13-for-25 from the free throw stripe. Dwayne
Jones was the biggest culprit, going 1-of-7. And it was the result of
a fortunate bounce that accounted for even the one free throw.
Jameer Nelson is in a shooting slump. Over the last 4 games (URI,
Fordham, Penn, and GW), Nelson is only 13 for his last 46, an abysmal
28.3%. It had better be merely a slump and not a result of a
banged-up finger that has been plaguing him, or else the Hawks will be
in trouble.
The Hawks (14-3, 5-2 A-10) will try to exact some revenge on their
next opponent. Saint Joseph’s will face Rhode Island February 1st
at 1pm at the Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. Rhode Island earlier handed
the Hawks their first A-10 loss of the season.
E-Mail the Author:
Patrick Wandalowski
Follow St. Joseph's Basketball each
week here at Collegehoopsnet.com!
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