Towson University expected to undergo some rough sledding when it joined the Colonial Athletic Association before last season, but yesterday the Tigers experienced a different sort of Colonial dominance.
A young but extremely promising George Washington team invaded the Towson Center and led all the way to score a 70-60 victory in a game that featured five freshman starters.
George Washington (5-3) showed no signs of rust after a 10-day layoff for examinations, spurting ahead 7-0 at the start, building the advantage to 19 points twice midway through the second half and coasting home.
It was the first home defeat of the season for Towson, which is now off until a visit next Monday to Virginia Tech.
"I think they're a better team than Georgetown," said Tigers guard Jamaal Gilchrist, a Washington native. "They just run their stuff and keep attacking you."
"Man for man, they're quicker than Georgetown," agreed Towson coach Michael Hunt. "And they've got great leadership in [senior Chris] Monroe, who's going to make a lot of money in this game. They're going to be real good."
Towson (3-5) lost to Georgetown, 81-52, on Nov. 30 at MCI Center.
Monroe scored 24 points, made five steals, grabbed five rebounds and had four assists to spark the Atlantic 10 team with eight freshmen and five sophomores on the roster.
George Washington's losses were all to nationally ranked teams: Connecticut, Texas and Maryland.
"I think we have the best group of kids in the country," Colonials coach Karl Hobbs said. "Sometimes, I go home and feel bad because I screamed at them. It's a fun group to coach, but like on the road, it can be like a sixth-grade class going to the science museum."
The Tigers plugged away the entire game and made a mini-run at the finish to close to within 10, but they could never sustain any meaningful rallies against a rugged defensive team.
It didn't help that with three minutes remaining in the first half, Towson had not gone to the free-throw line while the Colonials had already cashed in with 10 foul shots. In the end, 10 free throws turned out to be the winning margin.
Freshman forward Lawrence Hamm posted career highs of 19 points and nine rebounds for the Tigers, who received only 10 points combined from Gilchrist and Brian Allen, the starting guards. That is usually a bad sign for a team that depends on offensive output from the backcourt.
"We played a fairly good game, particularly on the defensive end," Hobbs said. "But I think in the last few minutes the guys started looking up at the clock and opening their Christmas presents."
In its first meeting with the Colonials since 1984, Towson dropped its second straight of the weekend and fell to 2-1 at home.
GEORGE WASHINGTON--Monroe 5-13 11-17 24, Thompson 3-7 0-0 8, Hall 3-7 7-7 13, Mensah-Bonsu 1-2 4-4 6, Williams 0-2 2-4 2, Kireev 2-3 0-0 6, Cowan 1-3 1-2 3, Collucci 1-6 0-0 3, Helton 0-0 0-0 0, Akingbade 1-2 1-2 3, Forchiun 1-4 0-1 2. Totals 18-49 26-37 70.
TOWSON--Dixon 3-5 3-5 9, Hamm 7-12 4-4 19, McCartney 1-5 1-2 3, Allen 1-7 1-2 4, Gilchrist 2-7 0-0 6, Petkunas 4-5 2-2 12, McSweeney 0-4 2-2 2, Goode 0-1 0-0 0, Warner 1-4 3-4 5, Dotson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-52 16-21 60.
Halftime--GWU, 37-27. 3-point goals--GWU 8-20 (Monroe 3-7, Thompson 2-4, Kireev 2-2, Collucci 1-5, Hall 0-1, Cowan 0-1); TOW 6-17 (Petkunas 2-3, Gilchrist 2-5, Hamm 1-2, Allen 1-4, McSweeney 0-2, Dotson 0-1). Rebounds--GWU 37 (Hamm 9); GWU 37 (Hall 9). Assists: GW 17 (Monroe, Thompson, 5); TOW 17 (Gilchrist, 7). Total fouls--GWU 20, TOW 25. Fouled out--none. A--526.