Terriers Drop Close Game at GW, 79-76
November 28, 2001 | Men's Basketball
After a tight first six minutes, the Terriers carved out a five-point lead at 16-11 on a three-pointer by junior guard Paul Seymour (Liverpool, NY). The B. U. lead grew to 33-26 with 3:46 left in the half on a Seymour jumper. Seymour scored 12 points in the first half.
The Terriers took a 37-28 lead on a steal by sophomore guard Kevin Fitzgerald (Belle Harbor, NY), who sent an alley-oop pass to Turner that resulted in a dunk that gave B. U. its largest lead of the game with 1:40 left in the half. The Terriers took a 39-34 lead into the intermission.
The second half proved to be a back-and-forth battle, as each team built leads of as many as seven points. George Washington (4-2) went on a 9-4 run, tying the game at 43-43 just 2:39 into the half. A trio of three-pointers pushed the GW lead to seven points at 51-44 with 15:02 left, capping a 17-5 run.
B. U. then scored seven unanswered points, tying the game at 57-57 on a putback layup by junior forward Billy Collins (Concord, NH). Collins finished the game with a career-high 13 rebounds, seven of which were on the offensive end. Overall, the Terriers outrebounded the Colonials, 39-29. The grabbed 20 offensive boards to GW's eight.
As quickly as the Terriers tied the game, GW went back up by seven points, going on an 11-4 run midway through the half to go up 68-61 with 7:45 remaining. Again, the Terriers climbed back, tying the game at 76-76 on a Seymour three-pointer from the right wing with just 1:15 left.
The Colonials made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 29 seconds, sealing the victory. The Terriers had a number of scoring opportunities in the final minute, but could not convert. GW didn't make a field goal in the final 3:43 of the contest, but held on for the win.
"It was a hard fought game," B. U. head coach Dennis Wolff said. "We had two really good looks to take the lead in the last minute and I couldn't be any prouder of the attempts that our guys took. We made good basketball plays and we just couldn't get the ball to go in the basket.
"GW's kids played really hard and they did what it took to win the game," Wolff commented.
The Colonials were led in the game by Chris Monroe's 21 points, 17 of which were scored in the second half. Joining Monroe in double figures was T. J. Thompson with 19 points, and Greg Collucci and Jaason Smith with 11 points each. GW shot 50 percent from the field, going 25-for-50.
Turner continued his hot shooting, going 10-for-15 from the field, and 4-for-8 from behind the three-point line. He added six assists. Seymour scored 21 points on 9-for-20 shooting. Sophomore forward Jason Grochowalski (Shrewsbury, MA) added 17 points for the Terriers. In addition to Collins' stellar rebounding effort, he tied a career-high with five assists.
GW took 18 more free throws than the Terriers, making 12 more from the stripe, 20-8.
B. U. (2-3) begins a stretch of four games in 11 days when it travels to Worcester, MA, to take on Holy Cross on Saturday, Dec. 1. Game time at the Crusaders' Hart Center is 1 p.m.
