After GW committed a foul on Lynn Greer III, George Washington head coach Chris Caputo was T’d up after letting his displeasure be known with the officiating. The result was a 42-41 halftime deficit instead of a 41-39 lead as well as the momentum being in St Joseph’s favor.
Despite the efforts of James Bishop and Ricky Lindo Jr in the second half, the Hawks, behind the relentless attack of Erik Reynolds II and efficient shooting from Cameron Brown, never allowed the Hawks to relinquished momentum, earning a hard fought second round win over the Colonials 87-76.
James Bishop led the way for George Washington with 25 points, 8 assists and 5 rebounds. Ricky Lindo Jr ends his career with a double double of 20 points and 10 rebounds on 6-11 shooting from the field and Brendan Adams, playing in his final collegiate game as well, added 14 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
Hawks rapidly improving sophomore Erik Reynolds II posted a game high 34 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists on 10-22 shooting from the field, 12-12 from the line. Senior wing Cameron Brown was deadly efficient with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals on 7-11 shooting from the field, 2-4 from deep and Lynn Greer III contributed 14 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds.
The Colonials finish the season 16-16, their most wins since the 16-17 season.
Takeaways:
Erik Reynolds II/Cameron Brown:
were unstoppable, especially in the second half, where they were pivotal in the Hawks pulling away for the win. Reynolds, after a good scoring output in the first half (14 points) came out in the second half on a terror, attacking the Colonials time and time again, ultimately scoring 20 points on 6-13 shooting from the field and 7-7 from the charity stripe. Reynolds raised eyebrows by how he made it look effortless to get around any defender George Washington threw at him. To make matters worse, Reynolds wasn’t alone. Cameron Brown shined as well, with his damage coming from the perimeter. Brown, after a 7 point first half, posted 11 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 2-2 from deep. All four of his made field goals, were jumpers from the perimeter. The balanced scoring of Reynolds and Brown made it difficult for George Washington to key in on either player to slow down. Then when you add in the production of Lynn Greer III and promising 6’9 freshman Rasheer Fleming (12 points, 8 rebounds*5 offensive*), it’s understandable why the Colonials struggled to find ways to get the stop needed to put themselves in position to win the game.
James Bishop:
played with a lot of heart and put up a good fight for most of the game, he just ran out of gas. St Joseph’s did a good job of throwing different defenses at him, full court press, traps, zone, etc as well as a variety of defenders, while, attacking him on offense to wear him down. The result was him not having the legs to convert three pointers we’ve become accustomed to seeing him make and also a little bit of settling at times, yet, he still finished with 25,8,5. Goes to show you why he was First Team All A-10 this season while leading the conference in scoring. Special player and one that has his name all over the GW history books.
Ricky Lindo Jr:
in his last game, went out with his head held high. 20 and 10 performance is nothing to dismiss and he did it while pretty much having to defend 1-5 as well as being in foul trouble. Have to tip your hat off to Lindo Jr rebounding at George Washington to have an impactful career after a rough start during his days at Maryland.
3-point Shooting: I’ll keep this short and sweet. The Hawks shot 30 percent from deep, with Cameron Brown and Rasheer Fleming combining to shoot 4-8 from deep.
George Washington, shot 18 percent from deep with four of their top six 3-point shooters in Brendan Adams, Max Edwards, James Bishop and Ricky Lindo Jr, COMBINING to shoot 5-27 from three point territory. Very difficult to pull out wins this time of the year shooting this poorly from deep.
