March 5, 2006

GW Ends Perfect Conference Schedule With A Bang

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DCist certainly picked the right time to catch a GW game at the Charles Smith Center. A few weeks back we picked up one of the last two pairs of tickets available for Saturday's game, the last home appearance for GW's stellar senior class. There was alot at stake on Saturday for GW. The chance to end their conference slate with a perfect record along with yet another chance to quiet the critics that say they are overrated.

GW built a double digit lead in the first half before allowing the 49ers to pull ahead late in the second half. The two teams were nip and tuck coming down to the end of regulation. GW's winning streak seemed to be over until Maureece Rice hit a desperation three pointer with 6.5 seconds left to send the game into OT.

GW took a three point lead in the first in OT but seemed lost over the next few minutes and when De'Angelo Alexander grabbed a Rice miss with a few seconds left, it looked like GW's day was done. But all was not lost. Mike Hall fouled Alexander as he gained possession of the ball but also got tangled up with Charlotte's Leemire Goldwire, with Goldwire throwing a few roundhouse elbows to clear himself some space. The referees, after a long deliberation, charged Goldwire with a technical, giving GW two shots and the ball after Alexander's free throws, of which he hit one of two, setting the stage for an improbable finish.

All photos taken by leafblower and used with permission

Senior forward Mike Hall stepped to the line and buried both free throws from the technical, cutting Charlotte's lead to one. And on the ensuing inbounds, Carl Elliott gathered freshman Noel Wilmore's errant three point attempt and laid the ball in as time expired to give GW the win and extend the nation's longest win streak. As you can imagine pandemonium ensued. Despite no fewer than six PA announcements not to rush the floor after the game, the crowd in the student section flowed from the stands on to the floor to chase Hall around the court. Soon the students covered the playing court and the team jumped on top of the scorer's table to hold court and bask in the moment.

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"This has to rank up there as the number one game since I've been coaching," GW coach Karl Hobbs told the press after the game. "For it to end in such a dramatic fashion, and for it to end on these guys' Senior Day, you couldn't ask for a better way to close it out."

You can see the full Flickr photoset here. As always, the Colonial Hoops Blog has more on the game.


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Comments (12)

Nice win. Too bad it took a bone headed play by the opposing team to make it happen. This team is solid, should make it to the sweet 16, maybe great 8 based on seeding, but they got play better than that to make a dent in the tournament.

 

Your article is incorrect, the game winning basket was a put in by Carl Elliot, #25, not Mike Hall.

 

a lot

 

Fixed.

 


A great moment for GW basketball though it sure was not pretty.

www.dcbubble.blogspot.com

 

Another dominating performance by a top team against a top notch opponent.

Wait...

 

Thanks for the link to ColonialHoops.com! As for Mr. Dominating, Charlotte was the second place team in the conference. I mean, they're no South Florida, but hey.

 

Ouch on the South Florida reference? At least Georgetown will go down in infamy for being the first big east win for USF

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/04/AR2006030401384.html

Check out the Post article on Omar Williams not graduating from high school. A big deal that no one is paying attention to.

 

"Charlotte was the second place team in the conference"

18-11 record.

102 RPI ranking.

But, yes, they were #2 in the conference.

Quite the team. And no, I'm no fan of Gtown either. If there's one thing I hate about this area, it's the overhyped basketball team. I just miss all the Maryland bandwagon fans. Where did they go?

 

GW really cruised this year - good for them. But anyone who thinks their success this season will continue in tourney is deluding themselves. Along with other teams that cruised to great records and inflated rankings by avoiding tough opponents, they'll be exposed pretty quickly in the NCAAs. When that happens, though, I don't think it'll be news to anyone except the most oblivious GW fans. This phenomenon (or rather, strategy) seems to be more pronounced this year, but GW is certainly not the worst offender.

 

gw's ranking is indeed inflated but you can't take away it's great record. hard schedule or not, it's difficult for any team to achieve such a streak without it's full roster.

gw did take down maryland quite easily for the past few years and even this season (before they became the bubble/NIT team they are now)

"exposed pretty quickly"? Unfortunately, I actually think they'll make sweet 16 which isn't too quick in my book.

 
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