For the first time since 2018, GW has a three-game win streak courtesy of an impressive offensive outing against St. Joseph’s, which allowed them to take down the Hawks 92-91 in overtime.
GW held a five-point lead with 26 seconds to go in regulation, but St. Joseph’s was able to tie the game off an uncharacteristic turnover from James Bishop and a Lynn Greer III layup with four seconds left to play.
The Buff and Blue fell behind by four in overtime with under two minutes to play, but a combined effort by Bishop and Maximus Edwards gave GW a 7-2 run to close out the game, sealing the victory for the third straight conference game.
“I’ve played in over 100 games, a lot of them have been close, and you learn how to keep your composure when you have a lot of experience,” said Brendan Adams on the overtime win.
Adams led the way for the Buff and Blue with a career-high 32 points. He added four rebounds and three assists to his totals while shooting over 58% from three-point range. Adams was followed by Bishop, who entered the game as 29th on the all-time scoring list for GW, and recorded 22 points and six assists to move up to 28th, passing Carl Elliot. The duo, the highest scoring backcourt in the A10, helped boost GW to third place in A10 standings, as Dayton fell to Rhode Island, dropping to 5-3 in conference play.
“I’m really happy for [Adams] because of the way he works, the way he carries himself, the attitude he has…I think when you look at his career…he hasn’t really put it all together, well now he’s putting it all together,” said GW head coach Chris Caputo following Adams’ career night.
GW got off to a quick start and led by as much as 16 in the first half, but it wasn’t enough to put the Hawks away behind a 31-point outing from Greer III. The Buff and Blue were able to limit St. Joseph’s to 26.7% from three-point range in the first half and headed into the locker room up 41-35. However, the second half of the game was a different story. Kacper Klaczek hit three quick three-pointers for the Hawks in less than three minutes, shrinking GW’s lead to two points.
“You can play the percentages and then guys go play outside of that, and maybe some of that is us…but you have to give them credit,” said Caputo on his defensive plan heading into the game and the offense by St. Joseph’s in the second half.
Erik Reynolds added 17 points for St. Joseph’s before fouling out of the game with 3:21 left to play. GW committed five turnovers in the second half, which the Hawks converted into 10 points, and ultimately sent the game to overtime.
Both teams shot 50% from the field in the 5-minute overtime period, but the difference came from the free throw line. GW converted four out of five free throws, while the Hawks missed their one opportunity at the line. That missed shot was rebounded by GW’s Hunter Dean, and the ball found Bishop with 20 seconds to play. Down by one, Bishop drove to the rim and converted on the most exciting shot of the game to give GW the lead.
Defensively, Edwards led the way with seven defensive rebounds for the Buff and Blue, limiting second-chance scoring for the Hawks. Edwards recorded a double-double, with 12 points and 10 rebounds, the last of which came off the missed three-point attempt by Rasheer Fleming to close out the overtime victory.
GW will head to New York to face Fordham on Saturday, January 28th, at 2 p.m. That game can be found live on ESPN+ or listened to on WRGW.
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