George Washington University

March 6, 2013

Box Score | Box Score

PHILADELPHIA - George Washington men's basketball shot 55 percent and Isaiah Armwood recorded his eighth double-double of the season, but La Salle answered with 61 percent shooting to defeat the Colonials, 84-70, at Tom Gola Arena on Wednesday.

The loss puts GW (12-16, 6-9 A-10) into a must-win situation in Saturday's regular-season finale against Dayton (17-12, 7-8 A-10) for a chance to qualify for the 2013 Atlantic 10 Championship. The Colonials are in 13th place and trail the Flyers as well as Charlotte, Richmond and St. Bonaventure by one game in the A-10 standings. The top 12 teams in the final 16-team league standings qualify for the A-10 Championship at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., March 14-17.

Armwood finished with 18 points on 8-of-13 shooting and 10 rebounds, Lasan Kromah netted 15 on 7-of-13 shooting, and freshman Kethan Savage matched his career-high with 12 on 6-of-9 shooting to lead GW. The trio helped the Colonials convert 32-of-58 shots for their best field-goal percentage since an Atlantic 10-opening rout of St. Bonaventure in January. Kromah now has 990 career points, just 10 shy of becoming the 44th member of GW's 1,000-point club.

Rookie Kevin Larsen chipped in eight points, a career-high six assists and five rebounds, and classmate Joe McDonald added six points and game-high seven assists.

Four players combined for 76 of La Salle's (21-7, 11-4 A-10) 84 points, paced by Ramon Galloway's 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting. Tyreek Duren totaled 19 points and seven assists, Jerrell Wright had 16 points and team-high seven rebounds, and Tyrone Garland added 12 markers. The Explorers clinched a top four spot and first-round bye in the A-10 Championship with their 13th win in 15 tries at Gola Arena this season.

GW was hot in the first half, shooting 58 percent and owning an 11-0 edge in second chance points and 26-10 advantage in points in the paint, but La Salle was even hotter. The Explorers buried 10 three-pointers en route to shooting 68 percent and turned the Colonials' 11 turnovers into 22 points in the opening stanza to build a 47-37 lead at the break. Armwood had 10 points and seven boards, and Kromah had nine points at intermission, but Galloway (18), Duren (10) and Garland (8) combined for 36 points and eight of La Salle's 10 triples.

The Explorers then went inside to Wright to begin the second half and the forward opened with nine points to put the Colonials in a 56-42 disadvantage just over four minutes into the period. GW would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way, the final time with 2:25 left after an 8-0 run capped by an Armwood dunk trimmed the gap to 78-66.

GW scored a season-high 54 points in the paint, posted its second-best assist total (23) and surrendered its fewest rebounds of the season (17), but it was all for naught against the efficient La Salle offense. The Explorers finished at 28-of-46 from the floor (60.9 percent), 12-of-22 behind the arc (54.5), and made 16-of-18 foul shots (88.9).

Seniors Dwayne Smith and Bryan Bynes will be honored prior to their final home game at the Charles E. Smith Center on Saturday against Dayton. The 2:00 p.m. contest will be televised on Time Warner SportsChannel in Ohio, streamed on RaiseHigh.tv (blacked out in Ohio), and broadcast on FederalNewsRadio.com and 1500/820 AM.