Colonials Escape in First Round
Owing in large part to a soft schedule, George Washington had earned a reputation as overrated despite a 26-2 record. With just 11 minutes remaining in their first-round NCAA Tournament game against UNC-Wilmington last night, the Colonials appeared posed to prove their critics right. They trailed by 18 points, and had allowed the Seahawks to make 14 of their last 16 shots. The game, which had been tied at halftime, seemed to be slipping away.
Then, suddenly, it was if a switch had been flipped. Carl Elliott buried a pair of three-pointers, and GW's signature pressure defense began to dictate the tempo, forcing UNC-Wilmington into turnovers and rushed shots. The dust lifted less than four minutes later, and when it did, the Colonials had scored 19 straight points to take the lead.
The rest of the game was tournament basketball at its best, the jewel in an overall excellent day one. The teams traded buckets for several minutes, with neither side able to eke out a lead of more than a few points. T.J. Carter hit a gutsy three-pointer to put the Seahawks up two with under a minute to play. Elliott took an ill-advised three on GW's next possession, but Carter bailed him out with an even more ill-advised foul. Elliott tied the game by confidently draining the first two free throws, but missed the third. Carter missed a jumper for the Seahawks, GW couldn't get another shot off before the buzzer, and the game headed to overtime.
AP Photo taken by Chuck Burton.
UNC-Wilmington scored the first six points of the extra period, and GW trailed by four with less than two minutes to play. The Seahawks wouldn't score again, however, and the Colonials took the lead for good on a three-pointer by Danilo Pinnock and a tough, athletic bank shot from Omar Williams. GW got the defensive stops it needed down the stretch, and free throws from Elliott sealed an 88-85 overtime win.
GW moves on to Saturday's second round, where they'll face top-ranked Duke at 1 p.m. The Blue Devils were less than impressive in their first-round victory over Southern University, but GW will have to shore up several areas of their play if they want to win. First and foremost, they can't afford to fall behind, counting on the big run that has become their trademark to get back into it. Duke is too talented a team to allow one of those. The Colonials' pressure defense is certainly key to their success, and Duke's freshman point guard, Greg Paulus, has shown this season that he is excitable and turnover prone. But full-court presses occasionally result in fast breaks when broken, and given Duke sharpshooter J.J. Redick's fondness for spotting up on the wing in those situations, Blue Devil breaks are just as likely to end up in three points as in two. Indeed, GW will have to improve their overall defensive effort; the Seahawks shot better than 59 percent from the field, including 11-for-22 from three-point range.
On the bright side, Pops Mensah-Bonsu did appear to be at least adequately recovered from the knee surgery that kept him out of the Colonials last four games. He scored six quick points at the beginning of the game, and finished with ten points and three rebounds in 27 minutes. His play will be particularly important Saturday, as one way to beat Duke is to get their All-American center, Shelden Williams, in foul trouble. Williams is an exceptional shotblocker, but his defensive footwork isn't great and he might have trouble with the quicker Mensah-Bonsu. Somewhat surprisingly, Williams has been outplayed by several big men this year, and if Mensah-Bonsu can play him to a draw or at least keep him occupied, it will greatly increase the Colonials' chances of winning.
The tournament continues today on CBS, starting at noon. Two local teams are playing in Dayton, Ohio: Georgetown and Northern Iowa tip off at approximately 2:30 p.m., while George Mason squares off against Michigan St. at 7 p.m.