March 16, 2010 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, DC – In his final college game, George Washington senior Damian Hollis scored his career-high 30 points but it wasn’t enough as Virginia Commonwealth ended the Colonials’ season with a 79-73 triumph in the College Basketball Invitational Tournament first round Tuesday at Charles E. Smith Center.

The loss ends the Colonials’ season with a 16-15 overall record, their first winning record since 2006-07.

VCU (23-9) had five players score in double figures led by Joey Rodriguez’s team-high 16 points. Ed Nixon and Jamie Skeen added 14 points each and Larry Sanders and Bradford Burgess each scored 10 points. The victory allows the Rams to advance to the CBI quarterfinal-round matchup with the winner of Wednesday’s Eastern Kentucky-Charleston game on Monday, Mar. 22.

A-10 All-Rookie Team member Lasan Kromah scored 18 points for the Colonials including six straight early in the second half.

The Rams took its biggest lead of the game in the first half behind a 16-1 run beginning at the 9:15 mark to open a 37-20 bulge with 5:22 left. GW twice cut the lead to nine before a three-pointer by Troy Daniels, the Rams’ 10th three-pointer of the half, gave VCU a 45-33 lead at the break.

GW began the second half with a 16-6 run behind Kromah’s six straight to cut the deficit to 51-49 at the 10:56 mark.

The Colonials outrebounded the Rams, 39-33, including an 18-13 edge on the offensive end. GW shot 43.8 percent (28-for-64) for the game including just 4-15 from long range, while the Rams shot 46.3 percent (25-for-54) with 11 three-pointers.

Hollis’s 30 points was the highest scoring effort by a Colonial since Jan. 10, 2007. The senior ends his career with 1,196 points which ranks 28th on the GW career scoring list.

AP Photo

March 7, 2010 | Atlantic10.com

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Junior guard Kevin Anderson of Richmond has been named the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 men’s basketball Player of the Year in voting conducted among the Conference’s 14 head coaches.

The A-10 coaches also selected Fordham’s Chris Gaston as the Rookie of the Year, Chris Johnson of Dayton as the recipient of the Chris Daniels Award as the league’s most improved player, Temple’s Ramone Moore as Sixth Man of the Year, Damian Saunders of Duquesne as Defensive Player of the Year and Temple’s Fran Dunphy as Coach of the Year. In addition, Yves Mekongo of La Salle was tabbed Student-Athlete of the Year in voting among the league’s sports information directors.

Anderson ranks fifth in the Conference in scoring (17.8 ppg.) while leading the third-seeded Spiders to program highs in both regular season (24) and A-10 (13) victories. A second-team selection a year ago, the native of Duluth, Ga., has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season and also leads UR in assists (83) and steals (56). Anderson is the program’s first student-athlete to be tabbed A-10 Player of the Year since UR entered the league in 2001-02.

A two-time Player of the Week selection this season, Anderson is joined on the All-Conference first-team by Lavoy Allen of Temple, Xavier’s Jordan Crawford, Damian Saunders of Duquesne and Dayton’s Chris Wright. Crawford leads the A-10 in scoring at 19.7 ppg., while Wright garnered second-team distinction last season. For the first time in the league’s 34-year history, the first-team All-Conference consists of only sophomores and juniors.

The All-Conference second-team includes Temple’s Ryan Brooks, David Gonzalvez of Richmond, La Salle’s Rodney Green, Kwamain Mitchell of Saint Louis and St. Bonaventure’s Andrew Nicholson. Teammates Keith Cothran and Delroy James of Rhode Island, Massachusetts’ Ricky Harris, Jason Love of Xavier and Charlotte’s Shamari Spears were named to the third team. Temple’s Juan Fernandez, Damian Hollis of George Washington and Willie Reed of Saint Louis earned honorable mention acclaim

A four-time A-10 Rookie of the Week selection, Gaston leads all freshmen nationally in both scoring (18.0 ppg.) and rebounding (11.4), while his 504 points are the most by a freshman in team annals. The 6-7 forward leads the A-10 with three 30-point performances, pulled down at least 10 rebounds on 20 different occasions, and registered 19 double-doubles. Gaston is the third Fordham student-athlete to earn A-10 Rookie of the Year distinction, joining Bevon Robin (1998) and Bryant Dunston (2005).

Gaston is joined on the All-Rookie team by Chris Braswell of Charlotte, Cody Ellis of Saint Louis, George Washington’s Lasan Kromah, Aaric Murray of La Salle and Rhode Island’s Akeem Richmond.

The first-ever Duquesne player to garner A-10 Defensive Player of the Year distinction, Saunders enters this week’s A-10 Championship atop the league in both blocked shots (93) and steals (84) while averaging 14.9 ppg. and 11.4 rpg. The Waterbury, Conn., resident boasts 19 double-doubles and 19 performances with double-digit rebounds. Moreover, his 84 steals are tops in program history. The All-Defensive team is comprised of Saunders, Allen, Gonzalvez, Dayton’s London Warren and Garrett Williamson of Saint Joseph’s. Allen, Warren and Williamson are repeat selections.

Johnson was tabbed the recipient of the Atlantic 10’s Chris Daniels Award, presented to the Conference’s most improved player. A year ago, the 6-6 forward averaged 6.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and knocked down 24 field goals from beyond the arc. This season, the Columbus, Ohio, native enters the A-10 Championship ranked second on the Flyers in both scoring (11.8 ppg.) and rebounding (7.0 rpg.) while boasting 55 three-point field goals. He has grabbed 10 or more rebounds six times this season and has three 20-point performances to his credit.

Moore has provided a spark off the Temple bench in his sophomore campaign, averaging 7.6 points and dishing out 47 assists in just 17.6 minutes per game. In A-10 play, the 6-4 guard from Philadelphia, Pa., averaged 9.8 points on 51.3 percent shooting (61-for-119).

A three-time Academic All-Conference selection, Mekongo recently earned CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America first-team distinction. The senior forward from Elizabeth, N.J., boasts a 3.81 grade point average while majoring in Integrated Science, Business & Technology. A second-team Academic All-American a year ago, Mekongo averaged 11.0 points and finished his career with 1,014 points. Joining Mekongo on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference Team are Brian Conklin of Saint Louis, Duquesne’s Jason Duty, Kurt Huelsman of Dayton and Rhode Island’s Will Martell.

Now in his fourth season at Temple, Dunphy guided the Owls to their first A-10 regular season title since 2002 and the top seed in this week’s Atlantic 10 Championship. Ranked 16th in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and 20th in the Associated Press top 25, TU compiled a mark of 14-2 in Conference play, while its 26 regular-season victories equaled the Owls’ second-highest total in team history. In addition, Temple leads the league in both scoring defense (56.8 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (38.1). The Owls have captured the last two A-10 Championships and are 81-48 (.628) under Dunphy.

AP Photo

March 7, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Lavoy Allen scored 17 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Temple to a 63-53 win over George Washington on Saturday night in the final regular-season game for both teams.

The Owls (19-11, 11-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) had a season-high 55 rebounds in defeating the Colonials for the first time in Washington since 2002.

George Washington (10-18, 4-12), which failed to secure a berth in the 12-team league tournament, trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and 32-24 at the half.

Temple increased its lead to 10 points on an Allen layup with 19:28 left, and the Colonials never got within single digits again.

George Washington shot 35.2 percent from the field (19 of 54) while Temple shot 24-for-74 (32.4 percent) and 9-for-32 from 3-point range.

Damian Hollis led the Colonials with 21 points. Rob Diggs had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

February 28, 2009 | AP Press

RICHMOND, Va. — Damian Hollis scored 15 points and had a career-high 16 rebounds to lead George Washington past Richmond 66-57 on Saturday night.

Travis King and Rob Diggs had 13 points each for the Colonials (10-16, 4-10 Atlantic 10 Conference). Diggs added nine rebounds.

David Gonzalvez led the Spiders (15-14, 7-7) with 18 points and Kevin Anderson added 11.

Richmond, which had won three in a row, shot a season-low 26.5 percent.

The Colonials scored nine straight points to move from a 14-14 tie to a 23-14 lead with 6:21 left in the first half. Diggs scored six of the points, starting the run with a layup and finishing it with a dunk.

Richmond cut the margin to 32-30 on Justin Harper’s 3-pointer with 17:04 left.

George Washington responded with a 9-2 run and the Spiders got no closer than five points when the Colonials had one field goal in 6:01.

AP Photo

February 25, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Damian Hollis scored seven of his 25 points in overtime and George Washington defeated Charlotte 92-88 on Wednesday night.

Hollis opened the overtime period with five straight points to give George Washington (9-16, 3-10 Atlantic 10 Conference) an 84-79 lead with 2:21 left in the game.

Hollis also sent the game into overtime, tying the game at 79 on two free throws with 21 seconds left in regulation. The 49ers (10-17, 4-9) led 78-72, before Hollis hit a 3-pointer to bring the Colonials’ deficit to 78-75 with 45 seconds to go in regulation.

Rob Diggs added 22 points, Wynton Witherspoon scored 14 and Tony Taylor had 10 for George Washington.

Charlotte was led by Rashad Coleman with 22 points. DiJuan Harris scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds, Phil Jones added 12 points and Ian Anderson and Lamont Mack tallied 10 each for the 49ers.

AP Photo

February 22, 2009 | AP Press

CINCINNATI, OH – C.J. Anderson didn’t even take a shot in the first half, when Xavier’s perimeter game was more than enough. After halftime, he went back to threading his way through defenders and scoring.

Anderson scored 14 points in the second half, leading five players in double figures, and the Musketeers (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 16 AP) rolled to a 71-53 victory Sunday that moved them back into first place in the Atlantic 10.

“That was an important game for this team,” Anderson said. “Coach [Sean] Miller wanted us as seniors to play better and set the tone. I didn’t play well in the first half, but I came back and played better in the second half.”

The Musketeers (22-5, 10-3) steadied themselves after yet another road loss and moved a half-game ahead of Dayton (No. 25 AP) for the conference lead. Ranked for the first time this season, the Flyers lost at Saint Louis 57-49 on Saturday night.

There were more immediate concerns for the Musketeers, who had lost three of their last four games, all on the road. They needed to rebuild confidence fast. George Washington (8-16, 2-10) was the perfect matchup.

Damian Hollis scored 15 points for the Colonials, who fell behind 26-8 and trailed by as many as 25 points. George Washington shot 38.6 percent from the field and had 17 turnovers.

“We wanted to get back to the basics, and we did a good job,” said B.J. Raymond, who had 12 points. “We played about 30 minutes of good defense. That’s a step in the right direction.”

Xavier plays at Saint Joseph’s on Thursday, then has a week off to prepare for its home-court rematch with Dayton, which has lost its last 23 games in Cincinnati. Xavier has won the last two regular-season titles.

The Musketeers’ recent struggles have underscored their need for a dependable point guard. Terrell Holloway has regressed lately, playing like the true freshman he is. Holloway has passed up open shots on the perimeter and repeatedly gotten shots swatted away on drives to the basket, contributing little to Xavier’s halfcourt offense.

The slump prompted Miller to make a switch at the position, moving shooting guard Dante Jackson into the role. In the last three games, Holloway had come off the bench and gone 1-for-14 from the field with two points, two assists and three turnovers.

With 7-foot reserve center Kenny Frease also limited by a sprained ankle, Xavier’s offense has taken a hit.

It didn’t much matter against George Washington, which was so focused on limiting Xavier’s bigger front line that it let the conference’s best 3-point shooters get open behind the arc. Xavier made six 3s while taking a 26-8 lead, the last one by Holloway from the right corner. Holloway finished with three points on 1-of-4 shooting and two assists.

Colonials coach Karl Hobbs stayed in his crouch, staring blankly at the opposite end of the court, while his players gathered behind him during a timeout with 10:25 left in the first half. At that point, what’s left for a coach to say? Xavier’s versatility was too much.

“They’re always going to have four guys on the court who are capable of scoring 18 to 20 points on any given night,” Hobbs said. “The thing I like about them is they all have their roles and they know what they are.”

George Washington was coming off its biggest win of the season, 90-62 over St. Bonaventure. Rob Diggs scored a season-high 26 points in that one. Playing a ranked team for the first time this season, the Colonials fell apart. Diggs went 1-for-5 with two points and four fouls.

February 19, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rob Diggs scored 26 points, and was one of five George Washington players in double figures in a 90-62 rout of St. Bonaventure on Thursday night.

Joseph Katuka added 13 points, Travis King and Damian Hollis had 12 apiece and Wynton Witherspoon chipped in with 10 for the Colonials (8-15, 2-9 Atlantic 10 Conference).

Michael Davenport led the Bonnies (13-12, 4-8) with 16 points and Malcolm Eleby added 11.

The Colonials opened the game on a 25-7 run, cruising to a 47-28 halftime lead. They put it away in the second, outscoring the Bonnies 43-34.

GW hit 10 of 12 from beyond the arc and 14 of 16 from the foul line in the win. The Bonnies were just 5 of 20 from 3-point range, while going 5-for-10 on free throws.

The Colonials have won two of their last four games after dropping 11 straight before this current streak.

February 11, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Ruben Guillandeaux matched his career-high with 22 points as La Salle broke a three-game losing streak with a 68-57 victory over George Washington on Wednesday night.

Kimmani Barrett and Rodney Green added 14 apiece for La Salle, and Guillandeaux also had three assists and four steals.

The Explorers (13-10, 4-5 Atlantic 10 Conference) never trailed, took a 16-point lead after a 14-0 run late in the first half and held on after GW cut the gap to three with 8 minutes left in the game. Guillandeaux’s 3-pointer with 2:13 remaining made the score 61-50, essentially ending the Colonials’ hope for a comeback.

Damian Hollis scored 20 points in 21 foul-plagued minutes for the Colonials (7-14, 1-8), who have lost 12 of 13 games. Hollis picked up his fourth with 15:20 remaining and fouled out with 2:43 to play.

February 7, 2009 | AP Press

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Damian Hollis scored 19 points and Rob Diggs scored 17 points as George Washington snapped an 11-game losing streak with a 87-62 win over Fordham on Saturday afternoon.

Wynton Witherspoon scored 13 points and Tony Taylor added 10 points for the Colonials (7-13, 1-7 Atlantic 10), who won their first conference game of the season and their first game overall since a Dec. 23 road win over Sacramento State.

Led by 16 points from Hollis, the Colonials scored a season-high 57 first-half points, shooting 63.9 percent (23-36) from the floor, for a commanding 57-24 halftime lead.

In the only meeting between schools this season, the Colonials led by as many as 41 points in the second half and held the Rams to 32.8 percent (20-61) shooting overall.

Jio Fontan scored a game-high 22 points for the Rams (3-17, 1-7), who dropped their second straight game and have lost 10 of 11 overall. Trey Blue scored 18 points and Mike Moore added 15 points.

Diggs passed the 1,000 point mark for his career for the Colonials, who have defeated the Rams in nine of their last 10 meetings.

February 4, 2009 | AP Press

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Ahmad Nivins had 16 points and 11 rebounds, Darrin Govens scored 14 and Saint Joseph’s dealt George Washington its 11th consecutive loss, 66-58 on Wednesday night.

Tasheed Carr added 14 points and seven assists, and Idris Hilliard had 12 points for the Hawks (13-8, 6-1 Atlantic-10), who have won eight of nine.

Rob Diggs scored 18 points and Damian Hollis 14 for the Colonials (6-13, 0-7), who have dropped 11 straight for the first time since the 1988-89 season, when they started 0-14.

George Washington, the only winless team in the conference, hasn’t won since Dec. 23, a 59-47 victory at Sacramento State.

Saint Joseph’s led 33-29 at halftime and extended its advantage to 53-38 on a dunk by Carr with 9:52 remaining.

Hollis made a layup with 2:58 left that got the Colonials within seven at 59-52.

Govens responded with a 15-foot fadeaway jumper and Nivins hit a pair of free throws to push the lead back to 11 with 1:53 remaining.

The Hawks shot 24-for-31 from the line, with Nivins leading the way, shooting 10-for-11.