Week 15: 2.7-13.83
The top ten stayed intact, though there was minor shifting going on. Rice is your overwhelming #1. This seems like something that could have happened in the early 80s. North Carolina is #2. Our intrepid heroes are up to 19th, which is simply amazing. Granted, their SOS has to be awful (it is 94th). They are 6th in the mid-major poll (BYU, Washington, Southern Cal, UTEP and New Mexico ahead, Citadel right behind), and they are 14th in the RPI. They, along with St. Francis-NY, are considered locks for the NCAA as independents. Here is a quick thought about the top seeds in the NCAA:
East: 1) Maryland 2) Princeton 3) Missouri 4) Cornell (5: GW)
South: 1) North Carolina 2) Kansas 3) Pennsylvania 4) Baylor
Midwest: 1) Rice 2) Southern Cal 3) Kansas State 4) Clemson
West: 1) BYU 2) Washington 3) UTEP 4) Texas A&M
(I forgot to print out the poll. Oh well, not much changed.)
2.7.83: vs North Texas (10-12)
The Mean Green handed Jack his first-ever loss. Unfortunately for North Texas, that was, perhaps, their high-water mark last year. They finished 15-15, and failed to make the postseason. They're not headed there again this year, at 10-12 and unable to get consistency, despite a relatively solid roster. They have been better since a five-game losing streak to start the year. But they have not beaten anyone of quality...heck, they barely got by 3-20 Louisville a couple of weeks ago.
The culprit for them is scoring (192nd), an inability to rebound consistently, and a lack of a flowing offense. They are 223rd in assists, and 175th in field goal percentage. They have four players who started games before this season, but realistically, only two starters back. Chuck Berkey leads the team in scoring, at 11.4 points per game. Charlie Nance scores 11.2, while Joe O'Reilly puts up 9.6, and 8.0 rebounds a game. They are without starting SF Richie Thom. In short, don't expect a win here, Mean Green fans. They're only suiting up eight scholarship players.
Hulett hits GW's first shot, and Jack gets a score shortly after. With 17:10 left, it's 6-4, GW. Jack scores again, off a Hulett pass. It's 10-6 after O'Reilly gets two free throws. Richie Wille gets a three, and Hulett answers. Wille gets another three, and it's tied with 15:23 left. John Sandy dunks on Wille and gets the foul...Wille goes, and it's 15-12, GW.
North Texas seems to always have a response to GW. Oliver Bowie gets NT the lead with 12 minutes left. There's a lid on GW's basket right now...they cannot score. With 10:44 left, it's 18-15. This is the game NT wanted...a slopfest. Jack's line at the moment is 4-6-3, as NT holds a 20-19 lead. Jack gets another assist, this on a Patterson three. GW leads 22-20.
Jack gets yet another assist, as Patterosn strikes again. Jack gets a steal, and finds Hulett for a basket. Wille comes back and hits a three, and O'Reilly takes a charge from Jack. Unbelievable. It's now 27-27, after O'Reilly scores four in a row. Chapin fouls O'Reilly, who misses both free throws. Wille gets his third foul, and Patterson misses the freebie. Jack gets a steal, and Patterson hits a three. He has 11. Jack with another steal, and he gets the and-one. He's up to 7-8-6. Chapin with a steal and a layup...but Oliver Bowie htis a three. Chapin with another bucket, and Jack gets another steal. He gets O'Reilly to foul, makes it, but misses the free throw. Gregory Fazio hits a jumper, Patterson misses both free throws on the other end, and it's 39-32. Jack gets another foul out of O'Reilly, and hits both free throws. It's 41-32.
Jack missed a dunk, and Chapin fouls John Clements with five seconds left. He missed both free throws. That was a frantic end to the half, but a sloppy frantic. The teams shot horribly from the line. Jack has an 11-9-6 line.
Jack gets his tenth rebound on the first possession...here goes Hulett, arguing with the refs again. Just play the damn game, kid. O'Reilly, Nance and Wille have three fouls...Wille just got his fourth, argued, and picked up a technical. He's gone. It's now 44-36. Berkey draws a charge on Jack, and he's got to be careful. He only has two, but these refs seem whisle-quick. Jack has 13-10-6 right now...Chapin fouled Bowei and gave him and and-one. Jack answers with a three...he has 16-10-6 numbers. It's 51-41. Jack gets again, off of Fazio's foul...he now has 19. Woods gets a steal and a layup. Jack suffers his third foul...it's 56-43. Hulett hits...with fourteen minutes left, it's 58-46.
Richie Grubb and Jack trade baskets. Fazio responds to Jack, and Jack hits a three. He has 24, Patterson 14. Grubb hits a three...he has eight, and is capable of hitting a bunch of shots quickly. He hits another, and GW calls time. It's 63-55...Nance hits a three. These guys just don't quit. Jack assists Woods, and Berkey answers. It's 65-60, nine minutes left. Patterson hits a three off a Jack pass. He's up to 24-11-8...Patterson has 17. Hulett scores, and it's back to ten. Jack sits, and Hulett and Sandy are the leaders on the floor. Clements hits to make it 70-62. Jack comes back with 6:13 left.
Clements hits two free throws, and Jack misses a three. Grubb hits a three. Back to 70-67. Oy. Sandy to the line...misses the front end, but Hulett bails him out. The lid is going back on the hoop for GW. Jack blows it off and hits a shot. Patterson gets a steal, but nothing comes of it. Jack gets a steal, is fouled by Bowie, gets the layup, and the free throw. That's big...it's 77-69 with 2:49 left. Jack is at 29-13-8. Erich Cahill hits a basket, but Patterson gets two free throws. He has 19.
Charlie Nance hits two free throws, and Patterson responds. He has 21, and it's 81-73, 1:35 left. Hulett gets fouled and injured, and has to come out. The final is 81-73, but now questions loom on Hulett. After the game, it's discovered Hulett has a torn ligament. He'll be out for the next six weeks. Add in Davis' broken foot, and the starting backcourt is gone for the rest of the regular season. How will GW respond?
Code:
George Washington 81, North Texas 73
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North Texas (10-13, 7-4):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Joseph Oreilly SF 25 4-9 4-6 1 8 1 4 12
Charles Berkey PF 28 2-3 0-0 1 3 4 1 4
Charles Nance SF 28 3-9 2-2 0 1 2 4 9
Richard Wille SG 10 3-5 0-0 0 1 0 5 9
Oliver Bowie SG 28 3-9 1-1 0 4 5 2 8
Gregory Fazio C 30 6-7 0-0 2 8 2 4 12
John Clements C 15 1-2 2-4 0 4 0 2 4
Richard Grubb PG 25 5-5 0-0 0 2 1 1 13
Erich Cahill PG 6 1-2 0-0 0 1 0 1 2
Coleman Epps C 4 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 19 (J.Oreilly 2, C.Berkey 1, C.Nance 3,
O.Bowie 7, J.Clements 2, R.Grubb 3, E.Cahill 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (C.Berkey 1, C.Nance 1)
Steals: 4 (C.Nance 1, O.Bowie 1, G.Fazio 1, E.Cahill 1)
3P FGs: 8-18 (J.Oreilly 0-1, C.Nance 1-4, R.Wille 3-3,
O.Bowie 1-7, R.Grubb 3-3)
George Washington (19-2, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Manuel Chapin C 35 2-5 0-1 3 7 2 3 4
Bruce Woods PF 33 3-5 2-2 2 4 0 3 8
Jack Dawkins SF 37 10-19 7-8 1 13 8 3 29
Richie Hulett SG 34 8-13 0-1 3 6 3 2 16
Hector Patterson PG 36 6-17 5-9 1 2 0 3 21
John Sandy SF 19 1-1 1-2 0 0 2 1 3
Michael King PG 3 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Porter Ali SF 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Robert Mulvey PF 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 10 (M.Chapin 1, J.Dawkins 2, R.Hulett 3,
H.Patterson 1, J.Sandy 2, P.Ali 1)
Blocked Shots: 4 (M.Chapin 2, B.Woods 1, J.Dawkins 1)
Steals: 11 (M.Chapin 1, B.Woods 1, J.Dawkins 5,
R.Hulett 1, H.Patterson 2, J.Sandy 1)
3P FGs: 6-14 (J.Dawkins 2-4, R.Hulett 0-2, H.Patterson
4-8)
Player of Game: SF Jack Dawkins (GW)
2.12.83: at St. Francis-NY (16-7)
The Terriers have a nice resume, having beaten a couple ranked teams (#21 Iowa State, #20 Colorado State on the road), as well as Seton Hall. There are a couple bad losses in there, but really, this is a quality team. They play good defense that disrupts the shot-taking process, due to their 6.1 blocks/game (17th). The offense is balanced on three levels. C Isandro Moreno averages 15.2 points and 7.2 rebounds, along with 3.5 blocks a game. Forward Guy Carruthers averages 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds a game, while guard Oscar Diaz averages 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds a game. Jake Wildman averages 9.4 points in just 19.5 minutes off the bench.
WIth the injuries to GW, and this being on the road, this shapes up as an L for the Colonials. Jack and Patterson will have to shoot very well for them to have a chance.
Patterson and Sandy start out as the backcourt. Oscar Diaz hits a three, and Jack finds Woods. It's 5-4 after a couple of minutes. There's no way GW is going to score as much as they have...it is doubtful their defense can be as solid as it has been, either. Just wonder where they're going to get the points...Hector? Sandy? Jack fould Ali to tie it at 8-8...then hit a bucket on his own, for his first points. At 14:00, it's 10-8, GW. Diaz (9 points) hits another three, giving the Terriers an 11-10 lead. Jack has an early 2-2-3 line.
Jack gets a foul out of Carruthers, and a three-point play. Wildman hits his first bucket...Jack gets a steal, assists Patterson, who gets fouled. 19-13, and Hector has eight.
Jack hits a bucket, and he and Patterson and working a good two-man game at the moment. Wildman hits a bucket, but Woods counters. Jack follows his own miss with a big dunk, and it's 25-15. Wildman follows, but Jack finds Patterson. He has a 9-4-5 line at the moment. Moreno gets a foul out of Woods and a three-point play. Sandy is fouled by Ruffin, and hits both free throws.
Mulvey draws a charge on Diaz. That's big, as he has two. He, Ruffin and Carruthers all have two. Ali fouls Moreno, who hits the shot and free throw. Jack comes back in after a breather with GW up, 29-23. Sandy scores, and Ruffin throws it away. Jack gets Ruffin's third foul, and hits both free throws. With 4:15 left, GW is up ten. This isn't sustainable.
Moreno hits a three, then checks his first foul. Chapin hits the two free throws. Carruthers fouls Mulvey off a Jack pass...it's his third, and the basket counted. Ali follows with a bucket. It's 40-26, and Jack has an 11-4-6 line. Patterson scores; he has 12, and GW has opened up a big 42-29 lead. Jack answers Michael MacKinnon's three with one of his own. At the half, it's 45-29. Jack has a 14-4-6 line, and Patterson has 12. The Terriers had 11 turnovers, comapred to just two for GW. The Terriers did outrebound GW, 21-17.
GW is in a 2-3, and Patterson suffers a foul. Then Sandy does. Dawkins blocks Moreno. Jack gets the first points almost three minutes into the half. Diaz gets a steal, and a layup...Carruthers has yet to score this game. He's shooting poorly. Jack hits another, and it's 49-31. Patterson scores again, and the lead is 20. Moreno and Diaz have 11 each. Jack throws down a monster dunk, giving him 20.
Wildman scores, making it 53-35 with twelve minutes left. Jack assists Hector. Diaz drills a three, but Ali responds with a rim-rattling three. Ali gets a Jack pass for the hoop. Ali hits another three...he has 12, which I think may be a career high. It's 63-40, as Jack gets a break at the 8:40 mark.
Patterson checks his fourth foul and comes out for Jack and...Chris Davis. Jack gets Carruthers' fourth foul, and two free throws, then another hoop. It's 24-9-8 for Jack, and 67-43. Nobody expected this. Mulvey hits a three off a Jack pass. It's 70-45 with 5:25 left...Jack finds Snday for a basket. Jack hits again...he doesn't get a chance at the triple-double, as he gets pulled before he could get his tenth rebound. It's 76-47 though...and St. Francis is shooting 40%. They aren't playing terribly. They have 19 turnovers, while GW has seven. That's the key.
Amazingly, the Terriers fouled only twice in the second half. Doesn't matter. The final is 78-51.
Statement made.
Code:
George Washington 78, St. Francis-NY 51
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George Washington (20-2, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Manuel Chapin C 33 1-4 2-2 0 9 1 0 4
Bruce Woods PF 22 2-5 0-1 3 4 0 3 4
Jack Dawkins SF 33 10-18 5-5 3 9 10 1 26
John Sandy SG 34 2-6 2-2 4 5 4 1 6
Hector Patterson PG 30 6-13 3-4 0 3 5 4 16
Michael King PG 10 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 2 0
Porter Ali SF 18 5-10 0-0 1 2 0 1 12
Robert Mulvey C 10 3-3 1-1 0 1 0 1 8
Chris Davis SG 4 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 2
Orlando Maley PF 4 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 8 (B.Woods 1, J.Dawkins 1, J.Sandy 2,
H.Patterson 2, M.King 1, C.Davis 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (J.Dawkins 3)
Steals: 3 (J.Dawkins 2, M.King 1)
3P FGs: 5-15 (J.Dawkins 1-2, J.Sandy 0-2, H.Patterson
1-4, P.Ali 2-6, R.Mulvey 1-1)
St. Francis-NY (16-8, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Isandro Moreno C 31 5-11 2-2 1 7 1 1 13
Jason Alba PF 22 2-4 0-0 1 6 1 1 4
Guy Carruthers SF 26 0-5 0-0 0 3 2 4 0
Oscar Diaz SG 32 5-9 0-0 3 5 3 2 14
James Ruffin PG 21 0-1 0-0 0 1 3 3 0
Jake Wildman SG 22 5-13 0-0 1 1 0 1 11
Edmund Wells PG 9 0-0 2-2 1 1 0 0 2
Chris Austin PF 18 1-1 2-2 0 0 0 0 4
Kenny Ross C 7 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Gustavo Dominguez C 1 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Micheal MacKinnon SF 10 1-4 0-0 0 3 0 1 3
Turnovers: 19 (I.Moreno 3, J.Alba 1, G.Carruthers 1,
O.Diaz 3, J.Ruffin 5, J.Wildman 2, E.Wells 1, K.Ross
2, M.MacKinnon 1)
Blocked Shots: 3 (I.Moreno 1, G.Carruthers 1, C.Austin
1)
Steals: 3 (J.Alba 1, G.Carruthers 1, O.Diaz 1)
3P FGs: 7-24 (I.Moreno 1-1, J.Alba 0-1, G.Carruthers
0-3, O.Diaz 4-7, J.Ruffin 0-1, J.Wildman 1-7,
M.MacKinnon 1-4)
Player of Game: SF Jack Dawkins (GW)