January 9, 1985: vs Bucknell (2-10)
I've discussed Bucknell's troubles a few entries ago...but truly, this is one of the worst teams in the nation. They are 223rd in both total offense and defense. They are being outscored by 20 points a game. They allow teams to shoot 49% against them, which is 233rd out of 234 teams. That's pretty rough.
This is a young team, with three new starters. The only holdovers are Major Jensen and Don Rabb, and neither of them are playing particularly well. Aaron Littleton, a redshirt sophomore forward, leads the team in scoring with 10.9 points a game. He's shooting 37% from the field, and 59% at the line.
This is not a good team.
Littleton opens the game with a score, and Darrell Deaver gets a steal and an assist to Littleton. Deaver scores from the baseline. Hmmm. GW is slow to wake up here, missing their first four attempts. Deaver is fouled, and he makes one of two, causing GW to call time. Hulett comes out of that with a three. Jack throws one down on LIttleton, and gets the foul. He hits the freebie...it's 7-6.
Hulett's hot streak appears over. He also appears very fired up to stick it to Jennings. Bucknell is rebounding like mad here. Grayson gets a three-point play, and GW leads 9-7. Hector hits two free throws...Perez gets a dunk off a miss. Cristobal Smith hits two free throws...Woods gets two free throws, and Jack hits a three. Jack is 2-2 so far. Jensen gets hurt. Jack hits from the left wing. The guards are in such foul trouble that Ferdinand Boutwell is in. Jack goes to the line and hits both. He has 10. Donovan Farrow hits a jumper. Jack finds Kenny for three...Armbruster with a steal and a layup. Hulett comes in and commits his third foul. Jack finds Kenny, and it's 29-17 with 6:15 left.
Ali drills a three. It's 32-20. Hector finds Ali for a bucket...who then fouls Littleton on a three. Jack's back, and he finds Kenny. He's got a 10-5-3 line right now, 36-24 with 3:26 left. Jack misses a three. Jerry Luttrell scores. Woods scores off a Jack pass. Kenny with a steal and a layup. Jack with a steal...but he can't get the bucket. Deaver gets the lead back down to 10. Jack throws down a dunk off a Hector pass. Then he hits two free throws. Rabb hits a three with two seconds le5ft. Hector hits a three from beyond halfcourt to end the half. That makes the score, 47-34. Jack has a 14-6-4 line. Bucknell outrebounded GW, 22-17. That's no good. Littleton had eight for the Bison.
Littleton travels on the first possession, and Woods gets an illegal screen. Jack charges into Deaver. Kenny gets a steal, and Jack finds Armbruster. Hulett hits his first shot of the half. It's 51-34. Jack gets more trailing blocks than anyone I've seen. He gets it to Hulett for three. Woods scores inside, and the lead is twenty. Woods draws a charge on Rabb. It's 56-36 with 14:43 left.
Deaver scores, but Jack responds. Deaver scores again. Jack finds Hulett for a tough basket. Jack has a 16-7-7 line. Jack drills a three off a Hulett pass. Patterson has six assists...Farrow scores...Jack scores off a Hector pass. Jack gets a block and a board. Jack gets a steal, and throws down a dunk. Then he does something he never does..he taunts the defender. Hector finds Jack on a lob for the dunk off a steal. It's 70-48 with 8:19 left. He's got 25-9-7. Jack finds Hector...both have eight assists. Jack finds Hector again. Hector has a 9-1-8 line.
Jack gets it to Hector again, and now he has a triple-double...25-11-10. Jack scores off a Kenny steal, then he comes out to a standing ovation. Jack looks over at Bucknell's bench as he walks off. Hector scores...he's up to 13. He's got this ability to make a lot of plays in his short time on the floor...he and Jack have unbelievable chemistry together.
The final is 84-58. GW ended out outrebounding Bucknell, 40-36. They shot 53% from the floor, 37% from three. Bucknell shot 33% and 11%, respectively. GW, behind Jack and Hector, had 24 assists. In addition to Jacks 27-11-10 line, where he shot 10-14 from the field, he had three steals and three blocks. Pretty complete game.
Jack said after the game that it wasn't until Jennings left that the program really took off. It's hard to argue with that. They have a 37-game winning streak, a national championship, and the best team in school history. And Arlie Jennings has what he has in Lewisburg.
Code:
George Washington 84, Bucknell 58
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Bucknell (2-11, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Donovan Farrow C 29 2-8 5-6 0 3 2 2 9
Darell Deaver PF 27 5-12 3-4 3 7 2 2 13
Aaron Littleton SF 24 3-6 4-7 3 5 1 3 10
Don Rabb SG 27 1-4 2-2 2 5 3 2 5
Major Jensen PG 8 0-3 0-0 1 1 0 0 0
Cristobal Smith PG 33 3-12 2-4 3 4 0 3 8
Jerry Luttrell SG 20 4-8 2-3 2 3 2 3 11
Edward Hicks PG 2 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Jackson Haigh PF 10 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 1 0
Rupert Leininger C 12 1-1 0-0 2 6 0 2 2
Joe Talley SF 6 0-1 0-0 0 1 0 0 0
Luke Flory PF 3 0-1 0-0 1 1 0 0 0
Turnovers: 14 (D.Deaver 1, A.Littleton 5, D.Rabb 5,
C.Smith 2, J.Luttrell 1)
Blocked Shots: 2 (D.Farrow 2)
Steals: 4 (D.Deaver 2, M.Jensen 1, C.Smith 1)
3P FGs: 2-18 (D.Deaver 0-2, A.Littleton 0-1, D.Rabb
1-3, M.Jensen 0-2, C.Smith 0-6, J.Luttrell 1-2,
E.Hicks 0-1, L.Flory 0-1)
George Washington (15-0, 0-0):
Player Pos Min Fgm-a Ftm-a Off Reb Ast PF Pts
Brian Armbruster C 29 2-5 0-0 2 10 0 3 4
Bruce Woods PF 29 2-5 2-2 3 5 1 2 6
Jack Dawkins SF 30 10-14 5-5 2 11 10 2 27
Kenneth Frazier SG 25 4-5 0-0 0 2 3 3 9
Richie Hulett PG 21 4-10 1-2 2 2 2 3 11
Hector Patterson PG 25 5-11 2-3 0 1 8 3 13
Michael King PG 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Glenn Grayson PF 10 1-2 1-1 1 2 0 0 3
Denny Perez C 9 1-3 0-0 1 2 0 1 2
Porter Ali SF 9 2-3 0-0 0 2 0 4 5
F. Boutwell SG 9 0-1 4-5 1 3 0 0 4
David Echevarria PF 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0
Turnovers: 12 (B.Armbruster 2, B.Woods 2, J.Dawkins 2,
K.Frazier 4, H.Patterson 2)
Blocked Shots: 5 (J.Dawkins 3, K.Frazier 1, G.Grayson 1)
Steals: 7 (B.Armbruster 1, J.Dawkins 3, K.Frazier 3)
3P FGs: 7-19 (J.Dawkins 2-5, K.Frazier 1-1, R.Hulett
2-7, H.Patterson 1-3, P.Ali 1-2, F.Boutwell 0-1)
Player of Game: SF Jack Dawkins (GW)