Courtesy of GWSports.com.
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – George Washington men’s basketball used a 19-point swing to grab a 53-49 lead with 9:45 remaining, but Rutgers managed to escape in the final minutes and deal the Colonials a 68-65 loss at the RAC on Tuesday night.
The loss is the third straight for GW (4-6) with the three losses coming by a combined 10 points. Five of the Colonials’ six losses have come by single digits.
Senior Isaiah Armwood led GW with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and added seven rebounds, four blocks, three assists and three steals. Senior Lasan Kromah and freshman Patricio Garino chipped in 10 points apiece, and freshman Kevin Larsen narrowly missed his first collegiate double-double with nine points and season-best 11 rebounds.
Rutgers (6-2) was paced by its backcourt duo of Eli Carter (19 points) and Myles Mack (13), with Kadeem Jack adding 12 off the bench and Dane Miller providing 10 and four blocks.
Trailing 35-20 with 3:27 left in the first half, the Colonials closed with a 10-2 run to pull within seven at halftime, then used a 13-3 spurt early in the second half to take its first lead of the night at 49-48 with 12:06 remaining.
GW’s lead reached its peak at 53-49 just over two minutes later on an Armwood dunk. The Colonials managed just one field goal over the next six and a half minutes and the Scarlet Knights turned five takeaways into a 12-3 swing to regain the advantage at 61-56 with 3:53 to play.
Armwood twice brought GW within a point and Garino buried a triple with nine seconds left to close within 66-65, but Mack converted a pair of clutch free throws and another Garino three-point attempt missed its mark in the final seconds.
GW enjoyed its largest rebounding advantage of the season at plus-16 (45-29), but committed 23 turnovers which led to 17 points for Rutgers and made just 4-of-20 three-pointers. The Colonials finished 26-of-63 from the floor (41.3 percent), and better than 50 percent (22-43) inside the arc.
Rutgers shot 43.1 percent (25-58) from the field, including just 3-of-14 three-pointers, but made 15-of-23 free throws compared to 9-of-12 foul shots for GW.
GW will play just two games over the next 19 days, beginning with an 11-day break for final exams until its next game on Dec. 22 against VMI at the Charles E. Smith Center. The 3:00 p.m. contest against the Keydets will be broadcast live on FederalNewsRadio.com and 1500/820 AM and video streamed live on RaiseHigh.tv.
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