Photo credit: Peyton Stoike (@peytonstoike)
By Cameron Mays (@cameronemays)
The Revs are officially on a streak! After battling with Hofstra for the first 30 minutes, GW turned their offense up a few notches and locked down on defense for the final 10 minutes, enough to put the Pride away 71-60 to remain undefeated.
This game was a highly anticipated test for the Revolutionaries (3-0), as the Pride (1-2) came into the game ranked 135th on KenPom with an offensive efficiency ranked 107th. Last season Hofstra got the best of the now-Revolutionaries in a high powered game that went 85-80 in Hempstead, NY. James Bishop IV had a career high 44 points as well as five assists in the game. He matched up against Aaron Estrada, who’s since transferred and is the new star for Alabama and had 33 points last fall.
In this matchup the big question was how GW would fare against their first strong opponent of the season. Despite holding on in the last game against William & Mary, there were some cracks in GW’s game that needed to be shored up, specifically regarding defense and being pressured with the ball. Against a team that the analytics favored, the Revs had to show they could put together 40 full minutes of quality basketball.
Even without Estrada, Hofstra can put the ball in the basket. Graduate guard Tyler Thomas came into the game averaging 19.5 points in the young season, and junior guard Darlinstone Dubar came in averaging 17.5. With other solid guards in junior Jaquan Carlos and freshman Kijan Robinson, GW had their work cut out for them in the backcourt.
One of Hofstra’s biggest weaknesses coming into the game was rebounding. The Pride came in ranked 245th in rebounds per game, and 313th in opponent rebounds. Without any strong bigs able to grab boards off the glass for Hofstra, GW’s strong rebounders (redshirt sophomore guard Maximus Edwards, redshirt freshman forward Darren Buchanan Jr., and graduate center Babatunde “Stretch” Akingbola) would be able to generate more offensive possessions and prevent second chance points.
The first half looked like it would be a scoring marathon at the start, with both Edwards and Thomas starting hot. Edwards had five points in the first five minutes, and Thomas hit all four of his threes within the first 10 minutes. Thomas put pressure on the GW by utilizing screens from 7’0 sophomore forward Silas Sunday. However, after the initial outburst, the physicality of the game slowed the scoring down despite both teams continuing to play at a fast pace.
As the first half wore on, GW showed great poise and toughness when it counted. With seven players scoring in the first half, the talent of the Rev’s rotation shined. Buchanan Jr., who finished as player of the game with 10 points, seven boards, and five assists, especially took a much bigger role handling the ball, where he consistently got to the rim and finished through contact.
“I see him as a primary, not even like a secondary, like a primary playmaker,” GW head coach Chris Caputo said. “When you see him and how physical he can be, you don’t necessarily [see] the guy is very unselfish, a good ball handler, an excellent passer, he’s a weapon and a unique player.”
The ball movement was also much improved from the last two games. Facing a better defensive team than Stonehill or William & Mary led to some difficult adjustments early, but as the game went on GW found their rhythm and was able to find open men for easy shots and layups, and went into halftime leading 35-29.
“I think we are a lot more versatile. Hofstra was a pretty good defensive team. They made it tough on us, but we were able to hang our hat on the defensive end and bring it home that way,” Bishop said. “That was something we haven’t had in the past. I think it gave us peace that we don’t have to be hitting shots every single night for us to pull a win out.”
In the second half the Revolutionaries came out sluggish, not scoring for almost two minutes and giving up their first half lead. Buchanan Jr. and Edwards provided all of the offense for the first nine minutes of the half as the game went back and forth. Redshirt freshman wing Garrett Johnson tied the game at 49 with a three at the 11:10 mark, and after Bishop IV hit another three off of a Johnson assist to put GW up 54-53 with 8:27 left, the Revs never looked back.
From the 8:27 mark GW closed out the game on a 17-to-seven run, including a 13-0 run over 5:17 of game time. During these runs GW tightened up their defense, playing the toughest they have all season in order to stifle Hofstra.
“I asked them to have their best defensive game, and I think we certainly did,” Caputo said. “It was a jumbo package. We’ve talked a little about Garrett, Jun (Buchanan), and Stretch out there together, and I’m not smart enough to have done that already, so I’m happy we did that out of necessity when Max gets his fourth.”
The run was punctuated by an electric sequence from Stretch where on one possession he blocked two shots and came up with a steal.
“Big shout out to Stretch, those plays he made late were big for us, two blocks and a steal, those really helped us take the lead even further,” Bishop said.
From there GW stayed comfortably in front, propelled by vintage offense from Bishop and an exceptional dunk off a backdoor cut from freshman guard Trey Autry. Autry’s performance of 10 points and six rebounds was a welcome sight for GW fan’s as the guard has had a quiet start to the season.
“Definitely my teammates, just consistently having trust in me. You know, if I miss two, they’re still going to look for me everytime,” Autry said about his improved performance. “Whether I am playing good or playing bad, that always plays a big way.”
While Bishop did have to play significant minutes, 38 for the second game in a row, the difference from last year is that he is not bearing the largest brunt of the offense. Instead of being the primary shot creator for the majority of possessions, he is able to get other players involved more consistently. Despite always being an offensive threat, as he finished the night with 17 points and three assists, less pressure on offense has allowed him to save his energy and take a step up on defense.
“I’m just trying to make the right play.” Bishop said. “I have really good teammates that can really make plays. We had four or five guys in double figures today. Teams are going to have a hard time just worrying about me because we have so many other weapons. I’m just trying to let the game come to me, let my teammates make plays and make plays when I need to.”
Special shout out to the obnoxious Hofstra fan in the front row of their section directly behind the bench decked out in Hofstra gear. He evidently thought he was part of the coaching staff with the way he was yelling instructions to the players and into their huddle during timeouts, but seemed to feel more comfortable screaming at the refs and event staff.
The Revolutionaries will look to go 4-0 at the Smith Center on Saturday at 1:00pm against the University of New Hampshire. The game can be streamed on ESPN+ and WRGW.
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