BERKELEY, Calif. – Senior guard Tony Taylor pulled up as the shot clock was running out. Arching back, he released a last-ditch shot effort from the three-point line – and watched it sink through the net as the buzzer sounded.
His trey gave the Colonials a 19-18 lead over No. 24 California with 6:23 left in the first half of the first game of the Progressive CBE Classic. But then it all slipped away.
The Golden Bears exploded on a 21-0 scoring run, closing the half without allowing GW (1-1) to add an additional point to the board before the break. It was a run that exposed a shaky Colonials frontcourt, with Cal posting a 20-10 advantage in boards, and it was a run that disrupted GW’s confidence, finishing the night by dropping its first road game of the season 81-54.
The decline showed on the faces of GW’s players throughout the rest of the game. Desperation and frustration became evident on the court as a strong Golden Bears’ defense forced the Colonials to rush their shots, struggling to get them off before the clock ran out, limited on looks. Both Lonergan and Taylor agreed that it wasn’t a confidence issue, but that it was GW’s inability to halt its own sloppy play that was to blame.
“At halftime, I told them we really contributed more to that run than Cal did, with our poor shot selection, and then, for whatever reason, we stopped playing defense as a team. I think, as a team, we have to have more mental toughness,” Lonergan said. “We’re not used to playing enough good teams. A top 25 team, obviously we weren’t ready for that. We have to keep getting better, and we have to figure out who the five guys are that are going to play hard and give us the best chance to win more.”
GW posted just a 37.9 percentage from the floor Sunday night, bested by Cal’s 56.0 shooting percentage. There were times when errant Colonials passes sailed out of bounds, an indication of their unsure grasp of new plays. And though sophomore forward Nemanja Mikic rediscovered his sweet stroke towards the end of the night, making three treys on the second half, the Colonials again struggled to find a hot hand at the net. Mikic was second in points, with 12, and Taylor again paced GW’s offense, adding 20 points for the second game in a row.
Two of the Colonials’ starters – graduate student forward Jabari Edwards and junior guard Lasan Kromah – didn’t post a single point on the night. The shooting struggles that plagued GW for a second game in a row have a simple source, Lonergan said. It’s a sign of the team trying for selfish play, looking to get a shot off by themselves, without the help of their teammates.
“Guys started to go one-on-one, and we only have one one-on-one player, and that’s Tony. The other guys really have to rely on the offense, and we can’t create any easy points in transition if we don’t rebound,” Lonergan said. “If it was confidence, I don’t think we’d have so many guys taking shots. I think we have some guys that are maybe too confident in their offensive abilities, and if it’s one-on-one, it’s not really going to get done. They have to play a team game.”
The Colonials struggled defensively as well. They were unable to limit Cal’s shots on the night, with the Golden Bears posting shooting percentages at about 50 for both halves. GW was bested in every category, committing 15 turnovers to the 12 it forced and edged slightly in steals, Cal owning a 5-4 advantage. The Golden Bears refocused after being momentarily thrown off their game by GW’s physical approach, halting themselves from the sloppy, distracted play they showed at the beginning of the first half, when they posted 10 of their 15 turnovers.
The true evidence of the Bears’ dominance was under the net. Cal out-rebounded the Colonials 38-22 on the game, besting GW on the boards in both halves. The Colonials were only able to get one block, from freshman forward John Kopriva, and the Bears posted three, physically dominating the low post. Edwards, looked to as the GW big man this season, added just three rebounds and a steal on the night. Lonergan will be seeking to answer the hole at the post, the head coach said, speaking about moving Mikic to a post position as a possible maneuver.
Lonergan again spoke of needing the production of the team to step up. If a player is struggling to find the net, Lonergan said, he should strive to improve his defense at the other end, and not let shooting issues cloud his entire game.
“It’s definitely frustrating, especially that 21-0 run. When you’re struggling to score and the other team’s just scoring and making tough shots, it definitely gets frustrating. We just needed to pick it up and chip away a lot better,” Taylor said. “We have to go back to the drawing board. We have to focus on rebounding, we have to get back to our principles and Coach is going to do a great job on that this week in practice.”
After a red-eye flight back to Foggy Bottom, the team has a break, its next contest coming in the next three games of the CBE Classic. GW heads to Bowling Green, Ohio, to take on Detriot, Austin Peay and Bowling Green Nov. 21 to 23.
As Lonergan prepared to join his team on the bus, he echoed his point guard’s words: It’s time to get back to work. He’s going to be examining their plays and players – speaking of potentially moving senior forward Aaron Ware to a starting position after a solid effort on the night that saw seven points, three rebounds and two assists.
“We’re definitely a work in progress, and I like our team, but we’ve got to continue getting better,” Lonergan said. “I’m telling those guys that we’ve got to have a good week of practice, and some guys are fighting for starting positions.”
