Photo Credit: GW Men’s Basketball
By: Cameron Mays
Boosted by a career-high 17 points from redshirt freshman Christian Jones, GW came out on top in a back-and-forth affair against Old Dominion 78-70, winning their first non-conference road game in exactly eight years.
Just three days after falling in a frustrating overtime loss at American that GW let slip away in the final seconds of regulation, the Revolutionaries hit the road again to take on the Monarchs in Norfolk. As they enter the last leg of the non-conference stretch, GW looked to right the ship against a struggling regional opponent and work through offensive issues that have plagued them to start the season.
Unfortunately, GW came out of the gates like they have often this year- sluggish and sloppy. While the Revs looked solid defensively and turned Old Dominion over multiple times in the opening minutes, GW struggled to get going offensively and was down 16-9 at the 12:45 mark. Seven of those points were from free throws, showing the difficulty the Revs had in establishing a consistent floor presence.
Nothing came easy in the first half. Through a combination of good defense and bad offense, both teams shot poorly. GW went 9-25 from the floor and Old Dominion went 12-33. Much of the shot discrepancy came from Old Dominion out rebounding the Revs by eight in the half and pulling down 11 offensive boards.
Redshirt junior center Rafael Castro had difficulty asserting himself down low, leading to the advantage for the Monarchs. For Old Dominion, freshman guard Jaden Johnson looked like a seasoned veteran, scoring 11 to go along with three boards and four assists.
Despite the lack of offense overall, redshirt freshman guard Christian Jones provided a much-needed spark off the bench for GW. After a sluggish offensive start for the Revs, Jones jumped in and contributed 11 points, including going a perfect 4-4 from the field and 2-2 from three in the opening half.
Jones capped his first half performance with a tough midrange floater with five seconds left as the shot clock expired to give GW a 34-33 point lead. That five seconds was too much time though, as junior guard Devin Ceaser took the ball the full length of the court and got fouled at the buzzer. His free throws gave Old Dominion a 35-34 lead at the break.
The Revs began the second half with some tempo and got hot on offense. Graduate wing Gerald Drumgoole Jr. hit two threes in the opening minutes to tie the game at 40. Jones continued his scoring barrage with three straight layups to take a four point lead with under 14 minutes to go.
Amid the run, GW got some help as Old Dominion tipped the ball into their own basket. The blunder gave GW their largest lead of the game at 64-57 with 7:30 left.
Redshirt sophomore Darren Buchanan Jr. turned up his offensive production in the second half, especially late in the half. While still struggling to shoot from any distance at all, Buchanan was using his size effectively to get to the basket and get fouls. His most entertaining stretch game included scoring off a euro hop-step, and then dunking a self alley-oop off an Old Dominion turnover at 5:49 to push the lead to 13, 71-58. He finished the game with 13, 10 of which came in the second half.
When it looked like the Revs might run away with it down the stretch, Ceaser willed the Monarchs back into the game. He scored seven straight for Old Dominion to cut GW’s lead to 72-65 and force a timeout with under four minutes. Amid a three minute GW scoring drought the Monarchs were right on GW’s heels, whittling the lead down to five with 30 seconds to play. It looked like the Revs might let the game slip away after some difficulty breaking Old Dominion’s press, but with a timely Old Dominion turnover and three free throws from Drumgoole Jr., GW secured the win 78-70.
While a road win is always good no matter the circumstances, this game once again affirmed the concern that GW has a hard time getting looks on offense. The team put to rest the three-point struggles of the American game and went 7-17 from behind the arc, but too often the game plan is to let Buchanan Jr. drive and try to muscle his way to the basket or the free throw line. Still, GW showed more willingness in this game to move the ball and play together, which is why they ultimately won. Assists were back up to about the season average (13.3 APG coming into the game) and overall efficiency was much improved in the second half.
The emergence of Christian Jones off the bench is an answered prayer for GW at the guard position, especially as sophomore guard Jacoi Hutchinson has been inconsistent on offense this season. Jones’ play warrants a look at slotting him into the starting lineup with junior guard Trey Moss scoring just eight points in the last two games.
The Revolutionaries were also timid on the glass, finishing the game with a four-rebound deficit and down five on the offensive rebounds.
Graduate forward Sean Hansen had arguably his best game of the season, scoring 10 and led the team with seven rebounds and four assists, but he should not have to be the teams go-to rebounder in the final minutes.
GW takes on Army at the Smith Center this Friday, December 13th at 7:00 p.m., which will be covered on WRGW as always, and streamed on ESPN+.
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