Final Result: GW battles hard, but loses to Richmond 67-57.

Today’s starting 5- Andrews, Lewis, Mott, Reynolds, and Sims. The Revs opened with Sims instead of Calisto and Engel was a late scratch, replaced by Lewis. GW opened with a pair of treys, but Richmond responded with a flurry of points before GW settled down and scored on multiple possessions. In perhaps one of their best played quarters of the season, where the offensive movement and passing was solid, GW got a lot of good looks and was able to take a 14-14 tie going into the 2nd quarter. Although GW’s offense continued to execute, a couple of drives into heavy traffic led to bad shots and gave the Spiders some easy looks off transition, forcing GW to take a timeout trailing 19-16 with 7:37 to go in the 1st half. After gaining their composure, GW responded to every Richmond salvo, and in what was the best GW half of the season, took a 35-34 lead into halftime. Sims was 4-4 on 3-pointers and led GW with 12 points. Andrews followed with 8 points for the Revs. For Richmond, Doogan and Ullstrom led the way, with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Richmond started to find the range to start the 3rd period, but GW managed to stay close, trailing 45-43 at the media timeout with 4:43 to go. After the timeout, the Spiders’ offensive barrage continued, staking them to a 55-48 lead heading into the final period. A mini 9-7 spurt by the Spiders at the start of the 4th quarter upped the lead to 64-55 with 4:46 to go in the game. After the timeout, within a span of 2 minutes, both Mott and Diala suffered injuries that forced them to leave the game. At this point, neither team could muster up a lot of offense and Richmond walked away with a 67-57 win. Doogan and Ullstrom lived up to their billing, putting up a 26/11 double and 18 points respectively. GW’s scoring was well distributed, with Sims scoring 15 points, Andrews adding 13 points, and both Calisto and Reynolds chipping in 10 points.

Although the outcome was not surprising, GW’s performance likely exceeded most observers’ expectations. Richmond’s offense was too good, and they have a lot of depth. The depleted Revs’ lineup lost their game legs in the late stages of the game and couldn’t hit their shots (0-8 from beyond the arc in the waning minutes). What was obvious was a new offensive philosophy that featured constant motion by the players, no excessive dribbling, and quick passing. It created numerous open looks, reduced the propensity for turnovers (GW had only 9 in this game), and spread the scoring around. And, except for a short stretch in the 3rd quarter, the Revs played the Spiders to a virtual draw. The one negative, although minor, is that there were still some bad shots taken, and most of the forays into the lane ended badly. One has to wonder why it took so long for the coaches to come up with this scheme, and whether they’ll continue to use it. There was a lot to be learned from this game, and hopefully the right people are paying attention.
 
With some winnable games coming up to end the season, a big concern for GW will be the availability of players. Engel has a sprained ankle, and neither Mott or Diala returned to the game after going down. The Davidson game isn't until Sunday, so hopefully, a few days of rest will be helpful.

Last edited by xAC (2/19/2025 9:23 pm)