Heading into the men’s basketball 2015-2016 campaign, it’s clear that the team’s success will hinge upon two main components: the performance of its veterans and its bench’s ability to put up points.

And in the Colonials’ first game of the young season Friday, which resulted in 85–76 homecourt victory over Lafayette, fans got to see a little bit of both.

Two huge nights from upperclassmen big men Kevin Larsen and Tyler Cavanaugh, who both posted double-doubles, as well as 17 points from senior swingman Patricio Garino, is exactly what GW (1–0) needed from its seasoned starters to set the tone offensively for the year.

Lonergan was impressed with Larsen’s play in particular, saying the senior, who has the size and strength to be a formidable threat down low, doesn’t necessarily score big every game. Against the Leopards (0–1) Friday, Larsen posted a career-high 24 points and added 11 rebounds.

“Kevin’s really struggled, in our exhibitions and scrimmages and everything else, to score and I said, ‘I like your passing ability but I want you to be a scorer, you’re going against some young big kids,’ so he scored tonight so that was good to see,” Lonergan said.

Larsen was GW’s third-highest scorer last season, averaging 10.9 points per game and boasted 83 assists, second-most on the team. But opponents also found ways to shut him down. Last season, Larsen was held to five points or less in eight separate contests, including one of his worst performances against then-No. 9 Virginia.

The key this year will be Larsen’s ability to be consistent, according to Lonergan. The Copenhagen, Denmark native said he was disappointed in his performance against the Cavaliers last year where he was held to just two points, but excited to prove himself in the rematch Monday night at the Smith Center.

“I’m happy for him, he’s had a great career, it’s just a consistency thing which hopefully he’ll have more of this year,” Lonergan said. “And he knows Virginia was not one of his better games, he had four turnovers, they doubled him and he threw the ball all over the gym so I’m kind of glad he said that because I want him to be motivated to show people that he’s a much better player than he was last year at Virginia.”

And as evidenced through the nine-point decision over the Leopards, Larsen won’t have to do it alone.

Junior forward Tyler Cavanaugh has already shown how much he can add to this lineup in his first official game as a Colonial, scoring 15 points and collecting a game-high 17 rebounds. But while both players excelled offensively, Lonergan still sees room for improvement on the other side of the floor.

“I thought Tyler could really take the pressure off Kevin this year and that they complement each other well,” Lonergan said. “I think they’re going to be great together, we’ve just got to get them playing hard on defense too and their size, we’ve got to use that defensively, we’re not going to be a great shot blocking team but we’ve got to really rotate better and take advantage of our length.”

Garino also had strong opening night, padding the Colonial lead with a second-best 17 points on the night, including the only two three-pointers made by GW, who went a lackluster 2-17 from deep.

GW’s third senior, Joe McDonald, was almost non-existent in his 25 minutes played. He was good for three points, all from the foul line, three rebounds and three assists. After the game, Lonergan pointed out that he did not practice much last week due to a minor injury.

And while the bench only produced 19 of GW’s 85 points, compared to 48 of its 92 against Gannon in last week’s exhibition, the Colonials’ back up guards picked up the slack well.

Most notably, sophomore guard Paul Jorgensen provided a spark off the pine in the midst of a series of second-half runs by Lafayette that substantially closed the gap, by dictating play at the one and preserving GW’s double-digit lead multiple times. Jorgensen ended the night with 10 points and posted team-high four assists and three steals.

Graduate student Alex Mitola, who also saw a good amount of time at point guard Friday, added five points and two assists off the bench as well. Freshman guard Jordan Roland and junior guard Matt Hart, who knocked down a pretty step-back jumper, also added two points each.

“I give Paul Jorgensen credit, when they came within 10 or 12, he really took over the game with his quickness and did a great job,” Lonergan said. “Even Alex [Mitola] made a couple of big plays. So I think our bench has helped us, that should be better for us this year, especially at the guard position.”

So while the margin of victory may have been smaller than expected, in large part due to a stellar night from junior guard Nick Lindner who had a game-high 27 points for Lafayette, and a weaker second-half defensive effort by the Colonials, GW got what it wanted out of this game offensively.

The Colonials proved their veteran starters can produce big, and complement each other well, and that the bench, although lacking depth, can provide scoring when it needs to. If GW can keep that up, it should be an exciting season.

Men’s basketball returns to action Monday at 7:30 p.m., when they play host to No. 6 Virginia in a rematch of last year’s contest which GW dropped 59-42 on the road.