All together now, ”the line is my friend, the line is my friend”.  That was the vibe last night at The Smith Center as George Washington showed the 3,129 attendees that free-throws can change the game.  GW shot 33.3 percent from the field off 16 for 48 shooting and 0 for 12 from three-point land.  But GW was true to form as they shot 87.1 percent from the line.  GW had seven attempts from the line in the 1^st half, but the 2^nd half- they visited the line twenty-four times proving to be the different maker for the victory over the hot Richmond Spiders (14-11, 7-5
A-10), 59-53.

         
    Coming into this game, George Washington was 6-3 when they hold their opponents to under 70 points.

          
   With the win over St. Bonaventure last week, George Washington, (8-14, 4-8 A-10), was looking at a chance of going on their first winning streak since the first two games of the season- against Mount St. Mary and Boston University. 

        
     George Washington showed intensity early, but without control.  After a 12-2 run by Richmond, Coach Hobbs called a timeout with 16 minutes left in the half.  GW came back focused and the game plan was simple- be aggressive on the boards, hustle to the ball, spread the front, and get F Rob Diggs the ball.  Diggs was insane as he took on all challengers for 18 points in the 1^st half, alone.  Diggs finished with 20 points off 7 for 15 shooting and 8 rebounds.  Despite Diggs’ 1^st half performance, Richmond led throughout the half, led by the A-10 rookie of the week, G Kevin Anderson.  Anderson scored 10 points in the 1^st half, but finished with 12 points off 4 for 11 shooting and 5 rebounds.

       
     George Washington was down by seven, 32-25, at the start of the 2^nd half.  Earlier in the game, GW over committed on defense by rotating to the ball, but left a man open for Richmond to have an easy shot.  Passes were getting away from GW as well.  Coach Hobbs sit G Johnny Lee early in the 2^nd half, not because he was ineffective because he set up the offense and protected the ball well, to put size on the front.  GW started to get aggressive on the offensive end, which led to getting to the line.  GW was led by F Damian Hollis, in the 2^nd half, as he attacked the basket finishing with 14 points off 3 for 5 shooting, 6 rebounds and was perfect from the line, 8 for 8(all in the 2^nd half). 

          
  George Washington took the lead for the first time in the game and never lost it with 10:52 left-but there was so drama.

         
   With 4:06 left in the game, GW had possession, took a shot and it appeared the ball hit the rim.  The officials gathered, agreed the ball did not hit the rim and called a delay of game on GW.  From that point, it gave Richmond a spark and the once 9 point lead GW had was cut to two with 1:18 left in the game.  Plus, Hollis fouled out as well. 

     
       George Washington was losing momentum until F Cheyenne Moore (Baltimore) took over.  Moore missed the team’s first free-throw of the half with 1:07 left, but he made up for it by attacking the basket, getting a big steal, diving for a loose ball and finished with 7 points- all from the line with 1:18 left in the game.  This victory over Richmond gives GW six straight in the series, but most importantly, a step closer to eligibility for the A-10 tournament.

Written by 2B