Renewed Rivalry Goes GW’s Way

Sports — By Ash McDaniel on December 3, 2009 at 12:28 am

(All Photos By Jordan Teller, Daily Colonial Basketball Photographer)

“The Battle of the Orange Line,” “The D.C. Rivalry,” or “The Battle of the Georges.” The name matters little. What the Wednesday night game over George Mason (3-4) showed was a new sense of school spirit as GW fans showed up at the Smith Center on Wednesday night, and in large numbers.

Thankfully, the Colonials’ players showed up as well, dominating George Mason and ending the night with a 66-49 win.

“The energy was really the difference,” Head Coach Karl Hobbs said of the crowd.

A packed Smith Center wasn’t all the action though; forward Damian Hollis led Colonials (5-1) scoring with 25 points and was dubbed the player of the game.

“We had an extreme amount of energy on the team and from the fans,” Hollis said.

It was a fast paced first half, with Mason going nearly shot for shot with GW, but the Colonials’ defense shined with 25 defensive rebounds and 14 steals – three each from the freshman duo of Bryan Bynes and Lasan Kromah had three steals each.

“In the beginning the two teams were trying to out shoot and out play each other,” Hobbs said, “But in the second half we had quick steals and quick runs. Eventually we had too big of a lead to come back from.”

The defense continued to dominate in the second half, but the offense started to shine as well. The Colonials put up 15 unanswered points in six minutes, leaving Mason fans silent.

“There was very little teamwork,” George Mason Head Coach Jim Larranaga said, “There was no passing, just a lot of dribbling. We still need to learn to share the basketball.”

Though GW fans ignited the arena, buff wasn’t the only color in the crowd as Mason fans made their presence known in their dark green and yellow. The Patriots fans had chants of their own throughout the game and touted a large crowd as well, filling up about a quarter of the Smith Center.

President Steven Knapp spoke with the team in the GW locker room before the game and acknowledged the spark that the team lit for fans, renewing a school spirit that seemed nonexistent the past few years.

“They’ve captured the imagination of the George Washington University,” Knapp said.

The GW Athletic Department pushed hard for a sellout for the renewal of this rivalry with George Mason. They didn’t quite reach the sellout but the crowd of 4,125 is by far more fans than the Smith Center has seen in a while for a basketball game.

The men’s next game will be against Navy on Sunday at the Verizon Center as part of the BB&T Classic (2-4). Tip off for the game is scheduled for 5 p.m. Maryland (5-2) and #3 Villanova (6-0) will play the second game of the annual tournament.

Tags: game recap, George Mason, men's basketball