Photo credit: Greg Fiume
By Cameron Mays
In a game that GW tried their best to lose with a horrible defensive performance, it was ultimately Fordham luck and inconsistent officiating from the famous Atlantic 10 referees that downed the Revolutionaries (11-3, 0-1 A10) 119-113 in triple overtime in the Smith Center on Wednesday night.
The GW squad came into this first A-10 matchup having won their previous five games, although all of them were against vastly inferior teams and most of them were not as convincing as they should have been. In these games it could be said GW was playing down to their opponents, often looking disjointed on both sides of the ball. This game, against the lesser but feisty Rams (7-7, 1-0 A10), was a way to get headed on the right path in what is sure to be a dogfight of a conference schedule.
Fordham’s season has been a let-down thus far after an impressive 25 win season last year. Despite returning many of their key pieces from last season, they have turned in a less than impressive non-conference record. This test against GW would be a way for them to get their struggling season back on track.
In the first half we saw what is possible in A-10 basketball: anything at any time. Fordham came out scorching from three, hitting three in a row to jump out to a 9-0 lead in the first minute. GW has been bad at defending the three pointer this season, but Fordham ranked 290th in three point percentage coming into the game. It was a classic case of a stoppable force meeting a movable object.
Unfortunately it was the stoppable force that prevailed as Fordham hit 10 three pointers in the first half, one off their season high of 11. While GW battled back at first, Fordham extended their lead to 12 off this uncharacteristically strong shooting.
After going down, the Revs came fighting back at the end of the first half to cut the lead to 48-44 at the half. An aggressive offensive performance from senior guard James Bishop IV and redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr. gave GW life. Both had 13 at the half.
In the second half the Revolutionaries tied the game at 53 three minutes in. Both teams settled down and started trading the lead back and forth. GW was better defensively, but several miscues kept giving Fordham open shots that they buried.
In a testament to the grittiness of the game, neither team led by more than three for the final 18:22 of the half. Buckets were traded, fouls were uncalled, and Fordham, evidently spurred on by the horrible officiating, made it a point to lay out GW players whenever possible.
GW valiantly worked through the officiating bias. Buchanan looked like a man among Fordham’s boys, constantly bullying and backing down whoever was put on him in the paint. Bishop was crafty and quick on drives, and redshirt sophomore wing Maximus Edwards did all the little things needed. Still, Fordham always had a response, usually a three, and GW could not pull away at any point. A Buchanan layup with 26 seconds left and a missed Fordham shot sent the game to overtime tied at 85.
The overtime periods were a blur to say the least. In the first OT period a suspect foul against GW immediately after the tip allowed Fordham to grab a one point lead. Buchanan again had his way, scoring six of GW’s eight points in the period. Unfortunately, with a great opportunity to win the game Bishop could not convert, and the game went to double OT.
The second OT period proved to be even more anxiety inducing. Both teams had tired legs and the crowd was getting loud, making their displeasure with the uneven officiating known. At the line down 102-99, Bishop made his first and purposely missed the second. GW got possession and had the ball out of bounds, where they ran a great set leading to an open dunk for Buchanan to tie the game.
The final OT period proved too much for GW to overcome. On the first play of the period the referees incorrectly called a shot clock violation after a Bishop shot hit the rim and missed two fouls on the same play. Fordham scored their first six points on free throws, and despite a couple of threes from Bishop and redshirt freshman forward Garrett Johnson, responded with two threes of their own to lead 114-111. From that point GW had to foul but could not get anything going, and eventually went down by the final score of 119-113.
“I thought we fought. We matched their effort and energy, played very hard,” GW head coach Chris Caputo said after the game. “But there’s no moral victories. Very disappointing, the outcome, but proud of the effort and fight.”
This is one of those games that is impossible to write about because it had so many elements, good and bad, that deserve recognition. Why did GW lose? Was it the defense, rebounding, or referees? Or was it the lack of bench scoring, turnovers, or fatigue.
Of course there were plenty of positives. GW shot a blistering 50.6% from the field and 44.4% from three, but albeit on only 18 attempts. Buchanan scored a career-high 38, the most by a freshman this season in all of college basketball, and Bishop matched his season-high with 32 and had three blocks. Edwards and graduate center Babatunde Akingbola had double-doubles. In a win the positives are all that would be remembered, but with a loss like this it is only possible to wonder which of the negatives were the biggest contributors to the defeat.
The three point defense was disappointing, as GW left their man open time and time again. Often Fordham would set screens in the paint and a shooter would pop out, with GW not even running out to contest until far too late. Fordham rewarded this effort by going a season best 19-for-42 from three.
“They made 19 threes, consistent throughout the game, they made them to start the game, and obviously two timely ones in the third overtime.” Caputo said. “They’re not a team who shot the three particularly well throughout the year. But I have to give them credit, they had an answer from three at almost every critical juncture in the game.”
Fordham also got lucky at the right moments. There were miscommunications, missed rebounds, and 50/50 balls that GW never seems to come away with that gave the Rams extra chances. With a middling team like Fordham it is always a mistake to let them get their confidence up, and that is what happened.
“At the critical times when they needed a basket, not only did they get that basket often, but it was a three throughout the game.” Caputo said
To the credit of the A-10 refs, they also did their part for Fordham. There were several egregious calls and no-calls throughout the game all of which were too much to overcome. I encourage you to watch a recording of the game and count them yourself. Of course GW could have done things better, but when the whistle is going against them at the rate it did tonight, there is almost no fix. On paper both teams shot about the same amount of free throws, but when a team is overly physical like Fordham, the equal free throws show how poorly the game was officiated. Only 10 fouls were called against Fordham in the last 35 minutes of the game, a ridiculous number to anyone who watched.
“I’d like to see James get to the free throw line more,” Caputo said. “I don’t know why he isn’t with the way he has the ball often and the physicality on those drives, unfortunately he only drew four tonight.”
GW will have a tough test on Saturday when they travel to Richmond to take on one of the other A10 Rams of VCU at 4:00pm. The game can be streamed on ESPN+.
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