Game 53: Men vs. Rhode Island

The men's team hosts Rhode Island (20-8, 6-7) tonight at the Smith Center. GW (8-14, 4-8) is coming off of a 59-53 home win over Richmond on Saturday afternoon. In that one, two Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Rob Diggs (20 points, eight rebounds, three steals) and Damian Hollis (16 points, six rebounds). GW trailed by seven at intermission, but Karl Hobbs' squad embarked on a 16-0 run midway through the second half and never looked back. Hollis went a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line, while Cheyenne Moore connected on five freebies at the charity stripe over the final 67 seconds to preserve the win. The Colonials shot 27-31 (87.1%) from the free throw stripe.

The Rams, who were picked to finish second out of 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 Conference, return four starters from the squad that went 19-14 and lost to GW in the title game of the 2007 Atlantic 10 Tournament. Rhode Island is led by preseason First Team All-A-10 selection 6-8 senior forward Will Daniels (19 points, 6.7 rebounds per game this season), 6-3 junior guard Jimmy Baron (14.3 points, 41.9% shooter from three-point land), the son of head coach Jim Baron, and 6-2 senior guard Parfait Bitee (11.9 points, five assists). The elder Baron is 107-103 in his seventh season at Rhode Island; he is 317-305 in 21 seasons as a head coach.

Rhode Island is coming off of a 90-83 home loss to St. Joseph's on Sunday afternoon. In that one, three Rams reached double figures in scoring: Daniels (24 points, four rebounds), Bitee (19 points), and 6-7 sophomore forward Delroy James (13 points, five rebounds, three steals). However, the Hawks built an 11-point halftime lead and limited the home team to just 7-23 (30.4%) shooting from three-point land. The Rams have lost four-straight games and five out of their last six coming into this one. Before starting A-10 play at 1-2, Rhode Island was ranked in both polls for four-straight weeks, reaching as high as #20 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll on January 7. The Rams' biggest win of the season was a 91-89 triumph at Syracuse on December 8. Rhode Island is 4-5 on the road.

This is the 48th-ever meeting between these programs; GW is 25-22. The last meeting came in Kingston, RI on January 23, 2008, which the Rams won 81-70. In that one, three Colonials reached double figures in scoring: Maureece Rice (17 points, four rebounds), Wynton Witherspoon (10 points, four rebounds), and Noel Wilmore (10 points). The Rams had four players reach double figures in scoring: Baron (17 points), Bitee (14 points, five rebounds, seven assists), Daniels (13 points), and 6-7 senior forward Joe Mbang (13 points, six rebounds). Rhode Island shot 10-22 (45.5%) from three-point land and forced 17 GW turnovers. The Colonials have won six of the last seven meetings in the series, including two-straight and three of the last four at the Smith Center. GW is 12-8 all-time against the Rams at the Smith Center.

While the Colonials have played well at home and this is a crucial game for the team in terms of reaching the A-10 Tournament, the pick here is for Rhode Island to come away with a hard-fought road win.

Paul Marmaro and Max Smith have the call for WRGW with Adam Rosenbloom handling production duties. You can listen to the broadcast here on tape delay following the conclusion of the women's game, which tips-off 30 minutes earlier. I will join Byron Kerr for the 3WT broadcast. You can listen here starting at 7.20 p.m.

Game notes: The Colonials control their own destiny in qualifying for the A-10 Tournament...GW is 34-4 in its last 38 home games...The Colonials are 7-3 at home...GW hasn't lost four home games in a season since going 7-4 at the Smith Center during the 2002-2003 campaign...GW is just 3-4 when scoring at least 70 points...The Colonials were 16-1 when scoring at least 70 points last season...Coach Karl Hobbs has used 12 different starting lineups through 22 games...GW used just five different starting lineups in 32 games last season...This season, the backcourt accounts for only 34% of GW's points...Last season, the backcourt accounted for 54% of the Colonials' scoring...GW has six losses by 20 or more points this season...Over the first six years of the Hobbs era, the Colonials only suffered 10 losses by that margin...Rhode Island is 4-5 since these teams' first meeting this season, while GW is 3-5...Rice is averaging 13.4 points per game in five career meetings with the Rams...Rice needs 24 points to pass Tom Glenn for 27th place in program history...Diggs needs seven points for 700 for his career...Diggs needs six blocks for 100 for his career...GW is 3-3 this month...The only other month where the team was at .500 or better was November (2-2)...The Colonials are 2-6 on Wednesdays, their worst day of the week, 1-10 when allowing 70 points or more, and 2-0 with the starting lineup of Diggs, Hollis, Rice, Johnny Lee, and Xavier Alexander...Those two wins have come in the squad's last two games, at St. Bonaventure and against Richmond...GW is 2-5 coming off of a win...The Colonials are yet to win three-straight this season...GW assistant Roland Houston was a standout at Rhode Island from 1978-1982...Rams assistant Kevin Clark was an assistant at GW from 1995 to 1998.

Starting lineups and other notes to follow from the Smith Center once we get closer to tip-off. Greg Shapiro will be live-blogging, so please check back later.

Update, 7.16 p.m. - Just 15 minutes away from tip and the Smith Center crowd is just beginning to file in. Only the first couple rows of the student section are filled but week day games have seen a late-arriving crowd all season. Starting line-ups and the tip to follow.

Update, 7.28 p.m. - GW has won two in a row in their buff uniforms and they will look to continue that success as they are sporting them again tonight. It will take more than buff unis to counteract the potent shooting of the Rams but that certainly is a start. The crowd showing is weak as we head to the National Anthem but I expect more to file in. Here are your starting line-ups:

Rhode Island
G - Parfait Bitee (6-2 senior from Yaounde, Cameroon)
G - Jimmy Baron (6-3 junior from East Greenwich, RI)
F - Delroy James (6-7 sophomore from Brooklyn, NY)
F - Will Daniels (6-8 senior from Poughkeepsie, NY)
F - Kahiem Seawright (6-8 junior from Uniondale, NY)

GW
G - Johnny Lee (5-8 sophomore from Nashville, TN)
G - Maureece Rice (6-1 senior from Philadelphia, PA)
F - Xavier Alexander (6-6 freshman from Forest Park, OK)
F - Damian Hollis (6-8 sophomore from Ft. Lauderdale, FL)
F - Rob Diggs (6-8 junior from Brandywine, MD)

Update, 7.42 p.m. - Sloppy play to start this one. Both teams have opened in a man-to-man defense. GW has done a better job finding open shots. Damian Hollis has been the only source of offense for GW early in this one. He hit the first basket of the game, a three-pointer at the top of the key. The Rams have struggled to connect on the few open shots they have seen. GW leads 3-0 at the first media timeout.

Update, 7.48 p.m. - Here comes the offense. Scores on five of the first six possessions for each team after the time out. Interesting to see a different game plan from GW as nine of their first 11 points have come from 3-point baskets. Three different Rams have scored in this one as GW leads 13-9 heading at the 11:56 mark.

Update, 7.55 p.m. - A battle is developing inside between Rob Diggs and Kahiem Seawright. The Rams have been able to use a man-to-man defense by assigning Seawright the responsibility of Diggs inside. Diggs is scoreless with 2 fouls. He has now checked out of the game. At the 10-minute mark, Hollis has reached double figures with 10 points. He leads all scorers.

Update, 8.01 p.m. - Quick passing has allowed GW to go on a mini 10-4 run over the last 3:30. The Colonials have freed up players on the baseline on several occasions through back screens to get easy lay-ups from Alexander, Hollis, and even Johnny Lee. 23-15 GW with 7:46 remaining.

Update, 8.08 p.m. - A technical foul call on Karl Hobbs has shifted the momentum in this one. Up 25-15, Hobbs got a technical foul call for being outside of the coaching box and Rhode Island has gone on a 6-0 run. 25-21 GW.

Update, 8.12 p.m. - Though the trap has freed up some shooters for Rhode Island, GW has maintained this pressure throughout the majority of the half. It has forced six Ram turnovers, including one that transitioned into a fast-break dunk from Wynton Witherspoon.

Update, 8.16 p.m. - GW has taken the momentum right back with an 8-0 run starting with that Spoon dunk. GW leads 33-21 with 3:31 remaining.

Update, 8.20 p.m. - GW is feeling it from beyond the arc. Noel Wilmore connects on his fourth three-pointer in as many attempts. Even Cheyenne Moore is getting into the act. You won't believe it! As I have been typing Noel connected on his fifth straight three. GW has made 6 straight 3-pointers. I don't know if it's the buff uniforms. I don't know if it's Noel Wilmore. I don't know if it's Chipotle going on GWORLD. I don't know what's going on. But GW is going into the locker rooms with a 49-25 lead over Rhode Island following a 24-4 run.

Update, 8.36 p.m. - Rhode Island coach, Jim Baron, gave his team quite a pep talk at half time. In fact, the Rams were on the court as early as they were allowed to shoot around. The Rams start the second half with the ball and start with a three-pointer from Will Daniels. GW is able to answer right back with two 3's of their own from Johnny Lee and Damian Hollis.

Update, 8.44 p.m. - The Rams connect on a four-point possession, getting the front end on a pair at the line from Jimmy Baron and then getting a 3 from Will Daniels from the corner. Good defense on the other end holds off GW and Daniels hits another 3 to give Rhode Island a 7-0 run.

Update, 8.49 p.m. - After a quick timeout from Karl Hobbs following the Rams' run, GW comes out firing with two unanswered 3's from Wilmore and Hollis. Wilmore's 18 ties a career high and Hollis's 19 is a career high.

Update, 9.17 p.m. - I would like to apologize for the 30-minute delay on updates. The blog shut down for maintenance. Well during this span, the Rams have mounted quite a comeback to make things interesting down the stretch. Rhode Island has outscored GW 33-26 in the second half. GW leads it 75-58 with 3:25 remaining.

Update, 9.21 p.m. - The story throughout the second half has been the foul situation. Rhode Island was able to bring more pressure in the second half but holding back as they only had one team foul in the first 10 minutes. GW has seen the opposite story. Diggs and Alexander both got their fourth fouls with 8 minutes to play and have played tentatively as a result, allowing the Rams to climb back. Time is not on Rhode Island's side as GW now leads it 79-64 with 1:45 to play. Head coach Jim Baron will call off the dogs and GW will run the shot clock down. A Wilmore 3 will seal the deal as GW will win their third straight, their fourth of five, and will keep themselves in the hunt for the right to get back to Atlantic City for the A10 tournament.

Update, 9.31 p.m. - And the final, GW wins it 85-68. An important win at home to win their third straight to head back on the road where they will face Xavier and Charlotte before coming back for senior day against UMASS. We'll be back on Saturday when both squads are in action. As always, thanks for stopping by.