George Washington University

Jan. 25, 2012

Box Score | Box Score

GW Coach Lonergan Post-Game at La Salle (1/25/12)

PHILADELPHIA - The George Washington men's basketball team's three-game Atlantic 10 win streak was snapped by La Salle, 78-63, at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday night.

GW (8-12, 3-3 A-10) also saw a three-game series win streak against La Salle (15-6, 4-2 A-10) snapped as the Explorers improved to 11-0 at home this season, extended the nation's 13th-longest home win streak to 13 games, and moved into a first-place tie in the A-10 standings. The Colonials were the last team to win in Gola Arena, 82-80 last February 19.

Sophomore Nemanja Mikic hit three 3-pointers and led GW in scoring for the second straight game with 13 points. Junior Dwayne Smith added a season-high 11 points in 18 minutes, and junior Lasan Kromah chipped in 10 points and a game-high tying four steals.

The Colonials shot a solid 46 percent, including nearly 58 percent in the opening half, but couldn't find an answer for the Explorers, who shot a season-best 58 percent for the contest.

Ramon Galloway scored 21 of his career-high 28 points over the opening 20 minutes to stake the Explorers to a scorching 72-percent shooting effort and a 13-point lead at halftime. He finished 11-of-12 from the floor, 6-of-7 from beyond the arc, and added six rebounds and four assists to his career night.

Earl Pettis tallied 13 of his 15 points in the first half and finished 7-of-12 from the field, Jerrell Wright added 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, and Steve Zack made all three of his shots and pitched in nine points as the quartet led the Explorers to their best shooting performance of the season.

The Colonials made five of their first six shots for an early 12-5 advantage until Galloway and Pettis took control. Galloway hit three 3-pointers and scored 11 points during a 19-6 run that gave the Explorers a 24-18 lead at the second media timeout.

Kromah and Edwards each scored four points as GW narrowed the margin to 30-28 at the 8:10 mark, but Pettis and Galloway combined to score 17 of La Salle's last 21 points of the half to put the Colonials in a 51-38 deficit at intermission.

GW trailed by as much as 20 at 66-46 with 13:09 showing, but had opportunities to close the gap to 10-or-less after Bryan Bynes' transition dunk made it 70-57 with 7:27 to play. However, Bynes missed a corner three-pointer on the next possession and Kromah came up short on a transition drive and the Colonials would get no closer.

The Colonials were without the services of junior David Pellom, their third-leading scorer, who missed the game due to a left knee injury.

GW plays its next six games on television beginning with Saturday's Atlantic 10 game at Fordham (8-11, 1-5 A-10) that will air on the YES Network at 1 p.m. That game can be listened to live on FederalNewsRadio.com and 1500/820 AM.