Thompson missed

T.J. Thompson was GW’s star during BB&T tournaments of years past, scoring 27 points against Maryland last year to lead the Colonials to their first ranking since 1999. Thompson showed his emotional leadership in big games and GW head coach Karl Hobbs realized that during GW’s 78-70 win over the Terrapins Monday night.

“We were in the locker room and I said to the coaches this is the one game that I wish we had T.J. tonight because boy do we need his speed,” Hobbs said Monday. “I thought a lot of guys stepped up.”

Hopkins-Taylor or GW-Maryland?

After a matchup that saw four players playing with four fouls at one time or another, the court at the MCI Center saw some blood, literally. Junior Carl Elliott got the area above his eyebrow stitched at halftime after a collision with Maryland’s James Gist.

“Once again I saw, and I’m a big boxing guy, I saw two middleweights today and you saw more blood in this game than you saw in that fight on Saturday,” Hobbs said, referring to the Dec. 3 fight between Bernard Hopkins and Jermaine Taylor. “I mean you’re talking about two teams that play with a great deal of character two teams played their hearts out.”

Not a big deal

With all the media reports surrounding GW’s purported rivalry with Maryland, the players kept their eye on trying to extend their unbeaten streak to five games.

“We didn’t come into the game looking at it as a big challenge everyone made it out to be because of the two area teams,” senior Mike Hall said. “It was just a great win, a great atmosphere so we’re just taking it from that. We learned a lot of how to play with poise and be mature so we look at it as a positive in that aspect.”

Hall, who characterized the game as a “war” because it was hard-fought, added, “Just another game, just another win on the schedule.”