Photo Credit: Greg Fiume
By: Scott Greaney (@ScottGreaney_)
On a brisk Tuesday evening, the George Washington Revolutionaries ended up battling for a close five-point victory over North Carolina A&T in their third buy game of the young season.
The frontcourt tandem of Darren Buchanan Jr. and Rafael Castro shined again, both finishing with double-doubles. Buchanan Jr. led the team in scoring with 20 points and 11 rebounds in a team-high 36 minutes.
Castro continues to amaze Foggy Bottoms fans since coming in from Providence College, finishing with 12 points and 12 rebounds, capped by a highlight first-half sequence where he stole the inbounds pass, dribbled the ball down the court, made a post-spin to lose his defender and threw down a monster jam, sending fans not just in the George’s Army student section but the entire Smith Center into a frenzy.
“What’s going through my mind is, ‘You’re a big guard,’ that’s what I’m telling myself,” Castro said. “I kind of trusted my gut on that…and thankfully I finished that play because if I didn’t, I probably would’ve sat next to Caputo after that,” Castro said with a chuckle.
Buchanan Jr. has now scored a double-double in each of GW’s first three games, putting his season averages at 16.3 points per game and 10.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.8% from the field.
Behind Buchanan Jr. and Castro, GW was able to thrive in the paint, outsourcing the Aggies 48-28 in the paint, despite outrebounding them by just seven.
“I think rebounding is just hustle, it’s really a choice, going up there and geting it, and I know (Buchanan Jr.) is going to match my energy on that,” Castro said.
Coming into Tuesday’s game, fans were looking for a quick start from the Revolutionaries after having slow starts in their first two games of the season.
Once the Revs got off to a double-digit lead nine minutes in and carried an 11-point lead into halftime, it seemed like the Revolutionaries would cruise to a dominant victory against another Coastal Athletic Association opponent.
However, that was anything but the case in the second half as the Aggies came out as a completely different team.
A layup from Camian Shell and a pair of threes from Jahnathan Lamothe – the transfer from Maryland who had a handful of former teammates in the Smith Center to cheer him on – cut the GW lead to just three less than two minutes into the second half.
The Aggies refused to go away, chipping at the GW lead to eventually go ahead and keep it a one-possession game for a steady portion of the second half.
“I thought a couple of pretty good looks from us that just didn’t go in got them going,” Caputo said.
After a handful of neck-and-neck sequences towards the halfway mark of the second half, GW was eventually able to take back control of the game with a 12-2 run after the under-8 media timeout.
“They just got it going, basketball is a game of runs, and I’m just glad we were able to make the adjustment,” Jacoi Hutchinson said. “We kind of came out a little lackadaisical, which is something we can learn from going forward.”
Even in the last minute of the game down 11, the NC A&T Aggies refused to go away, hitting three three-pointers to upset any potential gamblers who took the spread.
Caputo credited NC A&T’s ability to fight and “just never stop playing,” referencing their 80-64 loss to Wake Forest and how it was really closer than the box score would imply.
The Revs successfully prevented any last-minute madness as Jacoi Hutchinson kept his composure at the free-throw line, knocking down five of his six free throws once North Carolina A&T began playing the foul game.
“It’s the easiest shot in the game so we’ve got to make every one of those count,” Hutchinson said. “I don’t think it’s anything special…just focusing on that every point matters in these close possession game.”
Some injury news for the Revs: Coach Caputo said freshman guard Ty Bevins is day-to-day with a foot injury sustained in practice, while freshman forward Dayan Nessah is trending towards starting non-contact in practice as he recovers from an ankle injury.
The Revolutionaries will have a few days off until their next game against NJIT in the Charles E. Smith Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. in the Smith Center; WRGW will have live radio coverage and the game can be livestreamed on ESPN+.
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