 GEORGE WASHINGTON 77, BOWLING GREEN 56 Bowling Green trailed 35-34 at the half, but were out-scored 42-22 in the second 20 minutes.
“We have got to learn that defensively you have got to be ready to play for 35 seconds,” BG head coach Louis Orr said. “Even if you have got one day to prepare or less than a day; to me we have got to give a better defensive effort ... That was the most disappointing part of the game, our defensive effort.”
GW, an athletic team with a good inside-out game, was 17-of-26 from the field in the second half (65.4 percent) and finished the game 30-of-49 (61.2 percent). The Colonials were also 11-of-17 on 3-pointers (64.7 percent).
“They got too many open looks,” Orr said. ‘I give them credit, but this was the worst defensive performance we’ve had all year.
“We didn’t do anything to slow these guys down ... This was a team that you had to make miss.”
George Washington also shot well in the first half, although BG was able to stay close as Scott Thomas scored 15 points in the opening 20 minutes.
The Colonials were up eight, 33-25, with 4:05 left in the first half, but the Falcons battled back and took a 34-33 lead in the final minute of the half on a Thomas 3-pointer. Bryan Bynes scored with 18 seconds left to give GW a 35-34 lead at the break.
“We got some open looks, but tonight we couldn’t put the ball in the basket,” Orr said. “We didn’t share the ball as well as we needed to.
“We weren’t making the game easy for ourselves,” he added. “I know our guys wanted to play well; they wanted to win. We have still got some maturing to do.”
Thomas led BG with 15 points, after not scoring in the second half.
Craig Sealey came off the bench to play 30 minutes and contribute nine points and eight rebounds for the Falcons. He had 20 points and 19 rebounds in the three games.
“He gives you great energy and great effort,” Orr said of Sealey.
NOTES: GW is now 4-1 overall ... BG hosts Temple on Sunday with tipoff at 2 p.m. in the Stroh Center ... Thomas was BG’s representative on the all-tournament team ... Thomas finished the three-day event with 37 points, 15 rebounds, seven steals and four assists ... Against GW, Thomas was 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and the rest of the Falcons were 2-of-12 ... BG’s Jehvon Clarke scored the first points of his college career, hitting a 3-pointer ... Antonio Ferrell Jr., a walk-on, played in his first game for the Falcons ... BG scored 28 points in the paint, 12 points off turnovers, nine second-chance points, 10 fast break points and got 21 points off the bench ... In Wednesday’s first game, Detroit beat Austin Peay, 94-93, in overtime ... GW’s Tony Taylor was the Classic MVP and teammate Aaron Ware was on the all-tournament team along with Detroit’s Evan Bruinsma, Austin Peay’s Josh Terry and Thomas.
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