PHILADELPHIA, PA. 1/3/2105 – With just under seven minutes to play the George Washington Colonials looked to close out the game and get a comfortable win over the Saint Joseph’s Hawks. What they got was a furious rally that got the Hawks to within a possession late. However, the Colonials (11 – 3, 1 – 0) made free throws down the stretch to hang on for a 64 – 60 win at the Hagan Arena in the Atlantic 10 opener for both teams.
At the 6:54 mark GW held a 53 – 33 lead. The Colonials did not make another field goal for the rest of the game. SJU responded by going on a 27 – 11 run keyed by senior guard Chris Wilson who scored 12 of his 15 points in that stretch to pull to within 63 – 60 with 6 tics left. Free throws by GW gave the team the breathing room they need to bring home the victory making 11 of 19 over the last six minutes.
Saint Joseph’s got behind early by shooting the ball poorly making 7 of 26 (26.9%) in the first half. For the game the Hawks shot 41.8 % (23 of 55) compared to 55.2% (16 of 29) in the second half. The Colonials went 22 of 59 (40.7%) in the game. However, rebounding may be been the undoing for SJU as they were beaten off the boards 27 – 10 in the first half, and by 9 for the game.
Sophomore forward DeAndre’ Bembry scored a game-high 22 points for the Hawks. He also pulled down 8 rebounds. Wilson had a team best 9 rebounds. The Colonials had three players score in double figures led by guard Kethan Savage with 16 points. Forward Kevin Larsen had 15 points and 9 rebounds, and forward Yuta Wantanabe contributed 12 points.
The Hawks (6 – 6, 0 -1) return to Atlantic 10 action on Wednesday travelling to Pittsburgh for a game against Duquesne.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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