Posted Thursday, Jan. 4, 2:22 p.m.
Of Karl Hobbs’ 100 career wins as GW’s men’s basketball head coach, this one was not the prettiest.
Perhaps it was due to familiarity between the two sides, or because spirited students were not present to propel the teams. Whatever the reason, GW’s Atlantic 10 opener against Fordham was downright ugly at times, as both teams stumbled into 2007 with a sloppy, foul-plagued affair. The Colonials managed to come away with a 70-59 win at the Smith Center in front of 2,321.
Fordham attempted to slow GW (9-3, 1-0 A-10) down by hacking them into a stand-still, playing physically and using a zone defense along with full-court pressure.
“When you get to league play, it’s more of a chess match because you know each other so well, and we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” Hobbs said. “Fordham is primarily a man-to-man team, but tonight they came out in the 3-2 zone. We hadn’t anticipated that, and that zone slowed us down a little bit.”
Fordham Head Coach Dereck Wittenberg had a less positive review of his team’s defensive play.
“I’ve never been associated with a game where we just kept fouling like that–we weren’t playing good defense,” he said. “It kind of took the wind out of our sails.”
The defense led to frequent fouls and the Colonials were in the bonus for the vast majority of the first half. GW took 26 free throws in the half, but made just 13, preventing the team from setting up its own half-court pressure, Hobbs said.
Rams star Bryant Dunston had three early fouls and was forced to play just 19 minutes and take only four shots.
“It’s unfortunate that Dunston got some ticky-tacky fouls,” Wittenberg. “He’s been a (first-team all-conference player) for 2 years, and one of the best players in the league. But he gets a lot of fouls, and we need to work on that.”
Fortunately for GW, Fordham’s offense was left impotent without Dunston. They made just five of 18 three pointers and shot 40 percent for the game.
Senior guard Carl Elliott, who shouldered the scoring load in the beginning of the season, attempted just four shots.
“We have to find a way to get him more shots, to really turn him loose,” Hobbs said. “That’s something we’re really concerned about.”
Junior Maureece Rice once again led the Colonials in scoring with 17 points and also tied for the team lead with six rebounds.
Hobbs, in his sixth year as coach, said he had not thought much about getting 100 wins, but admitted that he was “pleased and happy” to reach the milestone. He preferred to focus on the present and the fact that his team started conference play with a win.
“My feeling is we’re still trying to figure ourselves out. I hate to say that at this juncture but we are,” Hobbs said “It’s major for us to start off on the right foot. You have to win at home, even if it means not playing well. You have to find a way to win at home.”
