By: Scott Greaney (@ScottGreaney_)
Missed the game? Don’t worry – listen to our call of the last few minutes of GW’s thrilling victory!
The George Washington Revolutionaries added to their most successful regular season in nearly a decade with an 88-81 tournament win over 15-seed Fordham, thanks to three consecutive three-pointers from Trey Autry in the last two minutes.
“It was a team effort,” Autry said. “I just happened to be open. I have all the confidence in the world because all my teammates have all the confidence in the world in me.”
“If you watched the game, I’m missing three open ones, but after every shot, they’re encouraging me to keep shooting and keep firing,” the sophomore guard said. “When you have people behind you telling you that, there’s not much you can say. I threw a few in, all glory to God, and we came out with the win.”
A historic renewal season for Coach Chris Caputo continues to blossom as he picked up his first conference tournament win as a head coach.
“We’re in a natural progression of where the program needs to go, and I feel good about that,” Caputo said.
Fans’ worries about the Revs coming out flat after more than a week of rest were quelled from the tip as All-Conference Second Team member Rafael Castro tapped the starting tip to a darting Christian Jones, who converted the opening fastbreak layup.
Thursday’s victory for the Revs highlighted another impressive showing from Darren Buchanan Jr., who originally started this season named to the Preseason All-Conference Second Team before shifting to more of a bench role following an ankle injury sustained in the middle of the season.
With friends and family in attendance, the Washington, D.C. native showed flashes of the all-conference caliber player he’s known to be, finishing with 14 points and seven rebounds, including three offensive rebounds with a few coming in the last minutes.
“[Buchanan Jr.] was playing with force,” Caputo said. “We needed it against these guys. I thought he played with force. Got on the offensive glass, had seven rebounds. Did a really good job.”
It was a hard-nosed victory for the Revolutionaries as star All-Conference Second Team member Rafael Castro uncharacteristically battled foul trouble for much of the first half.
“Those are the moments where I trust my teammates the most. Our guys pick me up – it’s a family.” Castro said. “At the end of the day, it’s not one-on-one. It’s five on five, and I know they’re going to pick me up every time.”
Although the Revolutionaries led for over 38 minutes of game time, the last-seeded Rams would not go away, much thanks to the efforts of Jackie Johnson III, whose 35 points were the most ever for a Fordham Ram in an Atlantic-10 tournament game, knocking down seven three-pointers in the game.
The Rams were able to pull off a 14-1 run in the span of just five minutes towards the end of the second half, taking a two-point lead off a putback from Abdou Tsimbila following a missed free throw from Japhet Medor.
It was eerily quiet in Capital One Arena as the Revs looked like they were on the brink of a second straight wire-to-wire heartbreaker in the Atlantic-10 tournament. Then Trey Autry happened.
Autry’s three threes in the last two minutes were each lightning-quick catch-and-shoot opportunities all from different areas of the court – sending the many GW fans who made the quick trip to Capital One Arena into a frenzy.
“Childhood dream, being on the big stage, bright lights, being able to knock a few shots down and enjoy a great moment with my teammates,” Autry said. “You’re fighting for it, so it really means a lot – kind of just lit me up like a candle.”
Next up, the Revolutionaries get a third chance for revenge against their cross-town rival and second-seed George Mason Thursday at 5 p.m.
“This year, we almost won the game about three times at their place, but didn’t win,” Caputo said. “And then I thought they were very, very good. I thought we were dead in the water. It was almost like this game where we came back and took a lead, [Jalen] Haynes scored. We missed two free throws, one with 30 seconds. So the games have been super competitive.”
