By Katie Yancey
In a historic, “monumental” matchup that saw the largest attendance at a sold out Charles E. Smith center in nearly a decade, the George Washington Revolutionaries took on the Georgetown Hoyas Saturday night for the first time since 1981, ultimately falling short 73-64.
“We wanted to put our men in some tough environments,” said Georgetown head coach Ed Cooley after the win. “We wanted to play a couple exhibition games on the road, one of which was here that we knew would bring some excitement. […] The energy in the building was great.”
In postgame remarks, GW head coach Chris Caputo thanked Cooley and his program for coming out and said he hopes it won’t take another several decades for the teams to face off again.
“I’d love to do it every year.” said Caputo on the long-awaited matchup. “Same time, same place. It’s a great way to kick off the college basketball season and bring some excitement to our area.”
The preseason exhibition game also marked the first appearance of redshirt junior Garrett Johnson since Feb. 13, 2024. Johnson underwent surgery for an ACL tear and missed the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
“You can see all the work that he’s put in,” said junior guard Trey Autry of his teammate’s return. “If you know the story, you know the adversity.”
The Revs came out swinging with redshirt senior Rafael Castro denying Georgetown on their first possession. Layups from Johnson and Christian Jones and dunks by Castro and Tyrone Marshall gave GW an early lead in the opening minutes. Georgetown’s Caleb Williams, who ended the night with a game-high 20 points, answered with a few 3-pointers to spark the Hoyas’ offense and get ahead by 10 midway through the first half.
A few scoreless droughts allowed the Hoyas to maintain control, but Autry made a statement for the Revs with a buzzer beater 3-pointer at halftime, sending GW into the second trailing 38-32.
Though the Revs carried some momentum to start the half, holding Georgetown scoreless for over two minutes and cutting their lead to just three, the Hoyas responded with a 7-0 run in just over a minute and worked their advantage back up to double digits. Georgetown maintained a steady lead despite a Castro dunk pulling GW within six with 1:23 remaining. Two trips to the line for the Hoyas to finish off the half sealed their victory over the Revs at 73-64.
“Obviously, this is not the result that we wanted. Not to say that I’m pleased, but I saw a lot of sparks and I saw a lot of things that really help me feel really confident in this group.” Autry said. “Just continuing to pick up on little things. It’s still early, it’s still October, so nothing is perfect yet.”
Bright spots for GW included a 12 point and seven rebound game by Castro, as well as an 11 point debut for Tarleton State transfer Bubu Benjamin. Williams, junior guard Malik Mack, and sophomore guard Kayvuan Mulready combined for 48 points for the Hoyas.
GW will kick off nonconference with Maine on Monday, Nov. 3 at 8 p.m. in the Smith Center. Live radio coverage will be available on WRGW.
