Courtside

3:03 p.m. Taylor drives and the Rams finally stop him, blocking his shot, and Bynes puts up a three from the corner that misses and goes out of bounds. The Rams hold the ball for the final few seconds and hold on to win 72-66. Check back more for a full post-game update and in Monday’s online and print editions for more coverage. Thank you for reading.

3:01 p.m. Cothran gets the ball, Bynes fouls him, and Cothran will go to the line for two shots with 16 seconds to play. Cothran misses the first and has the second rattle in to give teh Rams a six-point lead.

3:00 p.m. Taylor hits a quick three, giving him 22 points in the game, and the ready-to-celebrate Ryan Center lets out a disappointed sigh. The Rams still lead by five, however, and have the ball with 17.9 seconds to go.

3:00 p.m. Ulmer hits both shots and URI leads by eight.

2:59 p.m. Hollis is stripped by James and Ulmer gets the ball. GW fouls him and he’ll shoot two shots with URI up 69-63 and 24.1 seconds left.

2:59 p.m. Jones makes one of two shots, putting URI up by six. GW now has the ball.

2:57 p.m. Cothran misses the front end of a one-and-one on the other end and Opoku grabs the rebound. Taylor hits a high-arcing jumper on the other end to cut the deficit to five. Jones is fouled by GW and will go to the line for two shots with 35.3 seconds left.

2:55 p.m. Taylor draws contact during a drive, sending him to the line for a one-and-one. He misses the front end and Rhode Island secures the rebound, calling a timeout as GW’s defense swarms with 51.2 seconds on the clock.

2:54 p.m. Cothran is left open for a three in the corner and he buries it, putting URI up 68-61 with a minute left. The Ryan Center went crazy when the shot fell.

2:53 p.m. Taylor crosses over his defender then steps back to take a 19-foot jumper that falls and cuts GW’s deficit to four points. There’s about 1:15 left.

2:52 p.m. Martell makes a nice move to the basket to score as Opoku defends him, putting the Rams back up by six with two minutes left. Hobbs calls a timeout and is not happy with one official as he points to Ware.

2:51 p.m. Taylor beats his man to get into the lane and collides with another defender, sending the ball off his hands and out of bounds and giving Rhode Island possession. Opoku grabs a rebound on the other end but Rhode Island grabs it to force a jump-ball and keep possession with 2:09 on the clock. Hobbs came pretty far onto the floor after the call and was talked to by an official.

2:50 p.m. Taylor drives left, but Martell rushes from behind him and swats his shot out of bounds. GW will keep possession with 2:35 to play.

2:48 p.m. Smith gets a steal at midcourt out of the timeout, giving GW the ball back, but Taylor’s bounce-pass inside results in a turnover. Mejia is called for a charge on the other end as Opoku blocks his shot though, so the Colonials will once again have the ball down by four with three minutes to go.

2:46 p.m. Taylor drives and kicks it out to Kromah for a mid-range jumper, but it misses off the front of the rim. The rebound goes long and Katuka and Kromah both go for it, but can’t secure it as it goes out of bounds to give the Rams the ball after an official timeout with 3:41 left.

2:45 p.m. On the other end, Katuka blocks a shot to create a jump ball that wins GW possession.

2:45 p.m. Katuka scores to put GW back within six as the game approaches the four-minute mark.

2:44 p.m. Smith fouls Outerbridge, who hits both shots to put the Rams back up by six with 4:42 to play.

2:43 p.m. And just like that, Smith answers with a long two of his own. It’s 61-57 URI inside the five-minute mark.

2:43 p.m. That doesn’t last long, as Mejia hits a three that bounces off the rim and rolls in.

2:42 p.m. Smith has a short little hook-type shot fall and puts GW within three points for the first time since the very early stages of the game. There’s about 5:30 to play.

2:40 p.m. Kromah has a big block from behind when Cothran tries to go back up with an offensive rebound, but Kromah is called for the foul, his third. Cothran makes one of two shots and Rhode Island is up five with seven to play. Hollis turns it over on the other end.

2:39 p.m. Inbound the ball under the basket, Kromah finds Taylor for a layup and Rhode Island’s lead is back down to four.

2:38 p.m. Opoku gets a piece of this inbound pass and sends it out of bounds immediately. GW is defending the inbound passes well of late.

2:36 p.m. Rhode Island passes the ball in, Kromah gets a piece of it, and it goes out of bounds after just two seconds tick off the clock, sending the game into the inside-the-eight-minute-mark official timeout.

2:35 p.m. Opoku and Pellom trap Ulmer in the corner and there’s a bit of contact when an official blows his whistle. Opoku looks around with a confused look, thinking he had been called for his fourth foul, but the official signals that Rhode Island called a timeout from the bench. It’s still 57-51 with 7:42 to play.

2:34 p.m. Ware loses the ball while driving, but falls to the ground and grabs it near the baseline while trying to call timeout. The official says he touched out of bounds before getting the timeout, however, and Rhode Island gets the ball, still leading by six with eight minutes to go.

2:32 p.m. Ulmer hits a jumper and Smith misses a shot on the other end, then Hollis picks up his third personal foul when he hits Mejia in the head while reaching for the rebound.

2:31 p.m. Rhode Island’s Ulmer misses a put-back dunk, Smith grabs the rebound and pushes it up the floor, but Kromah loses his hand and steps out of bounds after grabbing the loose ball. It’s still 55-51 URI with 9:22 left.

2:29 p.m. Hollis scores a quick two and the Colonials are within four points with 9:54 left, prompting a Rhode Island timeout.

2:28 p.m. Richmond makes a three off of an inbound play under URI’s basket, then Kromah scores on a layup. The Rams lead 55-49.

2:27 p.m. Taylor misses a layup after a drive, then Hollis is called for a close goaltend when he blocks a URI shot that was apparently past its apex. Opoku scores a put-back off a Smith miss in transition on the next possession. The Rams lead 52-47 with 10:52 to go.

2:26 p.m. Rhode Island’s Stevie Mejia makes one of two shots and the Rams lead 50-45.

2:24 p.m. The Colonials go on a bit of a run, capped by two Taylor free throws and a three by Kromah, and suddenly they’ve cut Rhode Island’s lead to four points with 11:45 left. GW is 6-for-13 shooting this half and have out-rebounded the Rams six to two since he break. Opoku was just called for a foul, his third, and Rhode Island will have the ball after the current media timeout. I’m done taking photos for now, by the way.

2:14 p.m. GW gets its third straight steal and the third time is the charm, as Smith scores on a layup to finish the play. GW trails 44-38 at an official timeout with 15:18 remaining. I’m going to take more photos after the timeout but try to be back soon with more updates.

2:14 p.m. Freshman David Pellom comes up with a steal again, but Bynes can’t finish and Opoku can’t grab the put-back.

2:14 p.m. Smith gets a steal on the next possession, but loses control of the ball as he tries to push it up to Kromah and the Rams get it back.

2:13 p.m. Taylor is fouled during a take to the hoop and gets sent to the line for two shots, which he makes. Rhode Island leads 44-36 with 16:29 to go.

2:11 p.m. Hollis drives to the hoop and draws a lot of contact, but that contact is ruled a charge and the Rams get the ball going the other way. It’s the second personal foul for Hollis.

2:10 p.m. The single-digit margin is short-lived as Marquis Jones hits a three to extend Rhode Island’s lead to 44-34.

2:10 p.m. Taylor dribbles around the perimeter and gets a screen from Hollis before draining a three, cutting GW’s deficit to seven points inside the 18-minute mark.

2:08 p.m. Martell scores again, then Katuka scores on the other end while being fouled. He makes the extra shot and GW trails 41-31 with 18:46 to go.

2:07 p.m. Rhode Island’s Will Martell starts the half with a bucket inside after a bit of a battle with Katuka, then Taylor answers with a layup of his own in transition. It’s 39-28 Rams with 19 minutes left.

1:58 p.m. GW seems relatively fortunate to still be within relative striking range – an 11-point halftime deficit is not easy to surmount but far from impossible. The Colonials struggled taking care of the ball early on against one of the A-10’s best stealing teams and had no source of scoring while Taylor and Hollis repeatedly missed and Kromah got few chances. Opoku provided a spark off the bench early on, but nothing consistent GW could come to rely on. The Colonials have only taken two shots from beyond the arc, missing both, and do not seem to have a quick trigger in the small windows of opportunity they’ve had to try such shots in the first half.

Rhode Island’s lead is built largely on three-point shooting, as they’ve knocked down four treys and thus the category has accounted for a 12-point swing on the scoreboard. The Rams have also out-scored GW 20-12 in the paint, however, as well as 10-2 on fast breaks and 11-4 off turnovers, so there are a few ways to dissect how they’ve come upon their double-digit lead. If the Colonials are going to come back, they are probably going to need to have their go-to scorers, namely Hollis and Taylor, ratchet up their performance and start hitting some outside shots as a team. Scoring in transition is always key for GW, so forcing Rhode Island to turn the ball over would be another way to instigate a comeback.

That the Colonials played far from their best basketball could suggest that a return to their normal play might make this a closer game the rest of the way, or that they just don’t have it today against one of the conference’s best teams. We’ll find out over the next 20 minutes.

1:50 p.m. Taylor to Pellom to Smith for a big dunk in transition to cut GW’s deficit to eight, but Ryan Brooks scores in the paint as the buzzer sounds and Rhode Island will head into the break with a 37-26 lead over the Colonials.

1:50 p.m. Smith is called for a charge, meaning GW is over the limit and Rhode Island will shoot two for any defensive foul over the first half’s final minute.

1:48 p.m. Kromah drives to his left, has the ball poked out, but recovers it and scores an open layup as his defender was out of position following the attempted strip. It’s now 35-24 Rhode Island, with the Rams having hit a free throw moments ago.

1:48 p.m. Katuka goes to the line for a one-and-one and misses the first shot.

1:46 p.m. Sorry, that was a long two. It’s 34-22 Rhode Island.

1:45 p.m. And just after I say that, Kromah hits a three to cut URI’s lead to 11.

1:43 p.m. GW was able to mostly keep up with the Rams over the past few minutes, but still trails 34-20 with 3:56 left in the first half. The Rams are outshooting the Colonials 46.4 percent to 34.6 percent and are still winning the turnover battle eight to four. Taylor and Hollis each stuck jumpers since I last updated, though they are still a combined 3-for-13 from the field. With Kromah having taken only two shots, one of which he made, and GW making neither of its two three-point attempts thus far, the Colonials have had trouble finding a source of scoring.

1:35 p.m. Pellom lobs a pass inside to Katuka from the perimeter, but it sails over Katuka’s head and out of bounds, giving URI the ball and sending the game into an official timeout with the Rams still leading 29-14 and 7:48 left in the first half. I’m going to go take some more pictures for a bit.

1:33 p.m. Freshman Bryan Bynes has a jumper rim out, then Opoku has the offensive rebound bounce off of his hands, and URI gets the ball. Bynes gets a steal on the next possession and breaks away for a layup, but misses the shot and Opoku gets called for a foul in the battle for the rebound. Since it’s GW’s seventh team foul, Richmond goes to the line for the Rams and makes both shots. It’s a 15-point URI lead with 8:05 on the clock in the first half.

1:31 p.m. Taylor drives on the baseline and gets fouled while having his shot block, sending him to the line. He makes both shots and it’s 27-14 with 9:06 left in the first.

1:29 p.m. Hobbs has called another timeout at the 9:40 mark after URI goes on a 7-0 run that includes a three – the Rams’ fourth – and a steal of a GW inbound pass that was immediately put in for a layup. GW is 6-for-17 shooting and URI is 11-for-23. The Colonials have turned the ball over seven times and URI has done it once.

1:23 p.m. Taylor has the ball stripped from him during a drive and it goes out of bounds, sending the game into an official timeout with URI leading 20-12 and 11:55 left in the half. GW will have the ball on the other side of the break and I’m going to try to take a few photos for a bit, so don’t be worried if there aren’t any updates for a few minutes.

Also, the kid doing this bowling promotional game during the timeout is from Old Lyme, Conn.

1:22 p.m. A note during the timeout: entering today, Rhode Island got 23.3 percent of its points from three-pointers, putting it 254th in the country in the category. The Rams have gotten 45 percent of their points that way through the first eight minutes today. The national average is 27 percent.

1:20 p.m. Hollis misses a short shot, barely misses his own put-back, and Rhode Island pushes it the other way to for two quick points by Orion Outerbridge, which is a great name. Smith misses a shot on the other end and Outerbridge scores again in transition, giving the Rams a 20-12 lead and prompting another Hobbs timeout with 12:11 to go in the half.

1:19 p.m. Opoku grabs an offensive rebound, fumbles it going for a put-back dunk, but scores anyway, giving him six of GW’s 12 points thus far.

1:18 p.m. Opoku scores to make it 16-10 with 14 minutes left in the half.

1:18 p.m. Smith scores out of the timeout, then James hits another three for the Rams. It’s 16-8 Rams.

1:16 p.m. Akeem Richmond hits a three and Cothran gets a steal and breaks away for a layup, giving URI a 13-6 lead and prompting Hobbs to call a timeout at the 14:55 mark. That was a quick burst for the Rams, who have now taken five more shots than GW and forced four turnovers. GW has forced one.

1:16 p.m. James hits a three to give URI an 8-6 lead out of the timeout on a possession in which the Rams missed another open three. They’re getting plenty of looks from outside.

1:13 p.m. Kromah hits a mid-range jumper to give the Colonials a 6-5 lead heading into an official timeout at the 15:51 mark.

1:13 p.m. Rhode Island re-takes the lead on a bucket by Ulmer and is up 5-4 with 16 minutes left in the first half.

1:11 p.m. This game is going to be a fast one. There have already been 13 shots – with only three made – in the first three-plus minutes.

1:10 p.m. An Opoku dunk makes it 4-3 GW.

1:09 p.m. After URI misses its second wide-open three in as many possessions, Katuka fouls Cothran and sends him tot he line for two. Cothran misses the first shot but hits the second to give the Rams a 3-2 lead at the 17:30 mark.. Katuka heads to the bench with two quick fouls, replaced by Opoku. Freshman Dwayne Smith also comes in to replace Ware.

1:08 p.m. Hollis passes up a straightaway three to take a jumper from the free-throw line, which he hits to tie the game at two.

1:08 p.m. As he has the ball strips from him, Katuka is called for a foul when he backs into ad efender and knocks him down.

1:06 p.m. Hollis misses a short shot, but GW retains possession when the ball goes out off of a URI defender, then the Rams knock it out of Kromah’s hands and out of bounds again. Taylor then has a shot blocked and URI works a fast break that ends with Ulmer scoring to put the Rams up 2-0 in the first minute.

1:03 p.m. Rhode Island’s players are being introduced and run off the bench through the usual row of high-fives from teammates, then run and high-five two rows of girls who are probably about 10 to 12-years old.

12:54 p.m. Starting lineups are now available. For GW, sophomore Tony Taylor and freshman Lasan Kromah are at guard, sophomore Aaron Ware and senior Damian Hollis are at forward, and junior Joseph Katuka is at center. No surprises there.

12:53 p.m. Some Connecticut-centric notes from a Connecticutian blogger: this game boasts three players from New Haven, Conn.: GW’s Travis King and Rhode Island’s Keith Cothran and Lamonte Ulmer. UConn transfer Ben Eaves is also a member of the Rams and he had his best game this season against Fairfield, another Connecticut school. URI has a walk-on from Waterford, Conn. – Anthony Malhoit – and GW senior Hermann Opoku attended Connecticut’s South Kent Prep with King before coming to GW. And, of course, Colonials head coach Karl Hobbs was a point guard for UConn from 1980-84 and an assistant coach there for six years before coming to GW. There are more connections within GW’s athletic administration, but I’ll stop now.

12:46 p.m. Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadatte McGlade is in the house. She was watching the Temple-La Salle game on TV in the press room. There’s a doubleheader at the Ryan Center today, as URI’s women’s team will play UMass following this game. Also, the officiating crew is using pink whistles as part of a breast cancer awareness promotion.

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Hello and welcome to today’s live blog from the GW men’s basketball game against Rhode Island at the Ryan Center in Kingston, R.I. The Colonials (12-7, 2-4 Atlantic 10) are coming off of a thrilling comeback win in overtime against Saint Louis, which snapped a four-game losing streak for GW. It was the team’s second win in conference play and first since beginning its league schedule with a win at St. Bonaventure Jan. 6. Sophomore Tony Taylor led GW with 18 points, while freshmen Dwayne Smith and Lasan Kromah each added 13, including several key scores near the end of regulation and in overtime. Senior Damian Hollis, the team’s top scorer (14.1 points per game) and rebounder (five per game) this season, scored just two points on 1-of-8 shooting in 17 minutes. He had been limited in the previous two games by sore ribs, though I’m not sure if it was his injury or his shooting woes that kept him on the bench for most of the second half and the end of the game against Saint Louis.

Rhode Island (16-3, 4-2 A-10) is a very good team, having won games against Providence, who beat GW in a high-scoring game at the Smith Center in December; Oklahoma State on a neutral site; and Boston College. Two of their losses were very close (82-80 at VCU and 68-64 in overtime against nationally-ranked Temple) and the other was an 11-point defeat at Xavier. Senior guard Keith Cothran leads the Rams in scoring with 16.4 points per game and the team is 29-3 over his career when he scores 15 points or more. Rhode Island’s starting forwards, junior Delroy James and senior Lamonte Ulmer, are next in scoring with 14.2 and 12 points per game, respectively, with the 6-foot-6 Ulmer leading the team in rebounds (7.4 per game) and the 6-foot-8 James being second (5.4). The Rams give up their fair share of points (70.3 per game) but also score a lot (77.8), so there could be a lot of points on the board by the end of this game.

Also, one quick note: I’m on double-duty as a photographer today (triple-duty if you count live-blogging and reporting separately), so there will be points when I have to go snap some shots and there will be a temporary live-blogging blackout. I’ll warn you about it and don’t worry, it most likely won’t be during critical junctures in the game.

There’s still about a half hour until the opening tip, so we’ll be back with starting lineups when they’re available and updates throughout the game.

9:14 p.m. Saint Louis misses its last chance and GW comes back to win 67-62 in overtime, snapping its four-game losing streak. Check back at www.gwhatchet.com and in tomorrow’s print edition for full coverage of the win. Thanks for reading.

9:14 p.m. Smith makes both shots and GW leads by five with 7.7 seconds to go.

9:12 p.m. Opoku knocks down the first and GW leads by three, but he misses the second. Kromah grabs the rebound, misses a shot, and then Dwayne Smith gets it and is fouled by Saint Louis’ Jon Smith, who apparently did not foul out before. I guess it was Reed that fouled out the last time. Dwayne Smith will shoot two shots with GW leading by three and 7.7 seconds left.

9:11 p.m. The Colonials inbound the ball to Opoku, who is fouled by Jon Smith, Smith’s fifth and final foul of the game. Opoku will shoot two shots with 14.2 seconds left.

9:10 p.m. Taylor is fouled with 18.5 seconds on the clock and heads to the line, misses the front end of a one-and-one, but the ball goes off Reed and out of bounds. GW will keep possession after getting a bit of a break.

9:10 p.m. Ellis banks a double-teamed three and GW is now up by two with 22 seconds left.

9:09 p.m. A “Tony Taylor” chant breaks out during the timeout.

9:08 p.m. Taylor hits a mid-range jumper and GW leads 64-59, prompting a Saint Louis timeout with 37.8 seconds to go. Taylor now leads all scorers with 18 points.

9:07 p.m. Kromah hits a short jumper after a timeout and GW leads by three with 1:23 left.

9:04 p.m. Taylor is whistled for fouling Mitchell during a drive and shot. Mitchell misses the first but hits the second and GW leads by one with two minutes left.

9:03 p.m. Saint Louis struggles transitioning to offense after grabbing a rebound as GW’s defenders pressure them, resulting in a steal by Kromah, who scores immediately while being fouled and hits the free throw for a 60-58 lead with 2:15 to go.

9:00 p.m. Katuka is called for his fifth and final personal foul defending Reed in the post and is replaced by Opoku. Reed heads to the line and misses the first but hits the second. Saint Louis leads 58-57 with three minutes left in overtime.

9:00 p.m. Mitchell scores an off-balance layup and the game is tied again at 57.

8:59 p.m. Pellom comes up with a steal on overtime’s first possession, passes it from a seated position to Taylor in transition, who then finds Smith to his right for a layup and a 57-55 lead.

8:58 p.m. A note as the game heads to overtime: Hollis hasn’t played at all in a while and is still on the bench heading into the extra period. He has two points and made one of eight shots.

8:56 p.m. Mitchell misses a forced three at the buzzer and the game will head to overtime with the teams tied at 55.

8:55 p.m. Dwayne Smith misses a long two, but Kromah grabs the airball and puts it up and under to tie the game with 20 seconds left.

8:53 p.m. Ellis misses a three, but Jon Smith dunks in the rebound to give Saint Louis a 55-53 lead. GW has called a timeout with 35.7 seconds left.

8:52 p.m. Ellis misses a three out of the timeout and GW ties it with a drive and a score from Taylor. It’s 53-53 with 50 seconds left.

8:49 p.m. Katuka is out on the perimeter defending the ball and gets called for a block, his fourth personal foul. There’s an official timeout with Saint Louis still leading 53-51 and controlling possession with 1:32 remaining.

8:48 p.m. The Billikens use up all of the shot clock but miss and Kromah grabs the long rebound, starting a possession that ends with Katuka posting up and laying it in to cut the Saint Louis lead to 53-51 with 1:46 left. The Billikens have called a timeout.

8:47 p.m. Smith drives to his left and scores on a layup, making it a four-point game inside the game’s final three minutes. The Smith Center is coming alive a bit.

8:44 p.m. Salecich hits a jumper and Taylor drives to score and GW now trails 53-47 with 3:30 to play.

8:44 p.m. Taylor lofts it inside to Katuka, who lays it in softly from under the basket to cut GW’s deficit to six points with 4:20 left.

8:40 p.m. Ware is fouled and makes one of two shots. GW has made 10 of 14 free throws and now trails by eight with about six minutes left.

8:39 p.m. Cassity is left open for a three in the corner and Saint Louis is now up 51-42.

8:38 p.m. Bynes collects a defensive rebound and heads the other way, getting fouled while shooting a layup at the end of his end-to-end burst. He heads to the line and makes both shots, making it a 48-42 game with 7:14 to go.

8:35 p.m. Opoku has a big block on Conklin that goes out of bounds, sending the game into an official timeout with Saint Louis still leading by eight and 7:28 remaining in the game.

8:33 p.m. Taylor is left open for a straightaway three after faking a pass to his right and knocks it down to cut the Saint Louis lead to 48-40 with 7:55 left. It was GW’s second three of the night. Taylor now has a team-best 12 points, almost one third of GW’s scoring.

8:31 p.m. Another open three for Ellis, another made basket, and another 13-point lead, though Kromah responds with a nifty layup on the other end to cut the deficit to 11.

8:31 p.m. Taylor responds with a drive to the basket, scoring while being fouled. He makes the free throw and cuts GW’s deficit to 10 points with 9:41 to go.

8:30 p.m. The Billikens work the ball around as GW traps on defense, but Ellis is left open for a three and knocks it down to give Saint Louis a 13-point advantage.

8:27 p.m. Hollis has it stripped from behind on the offensive end, then blocks Mitchell’s ensuing breakaway layup off the glass. The Colonials end up turning it over, however, as the ball sails past a diving Taylor’s grasp as they try to transition to offense. Saint Louis still leads by 10 with 10:22 to go.

8:24 p.m. Mitchell is left open for a three and buries it, giving Saint Louis its first double-digit lead of the game with 11:23 left. Points have been more difficult than ever for GW to come by, so it won’t be easy making up that kind of margin.

8:23 p.m. Reed hits a jumper and Taylor drives but misses a layup on the next GW possession. Saint Louis leads 39-32 with 11:30 to go.

8:21 p.m. Taylor drives and gets fouled then makes both shots. Saint Louis leads 37-32 with less than 13 minutes remaining.

8:21 p.m. Ellis knocks down a three for Saint Louis, his third of the game, and the Billikens’ lead is back to seven. Saint Louis is 5-for-12 on threes and GW is 1-for-5.

8:19 p.m. On the other end, Ware drives and shoots and gets fouled by Conklin in the process. Ware heads to the line for two shots and makes the first, but misses the second. Saint Louis leads 34-30 with 13:40 to play.

8:18 p.m. Opoku is called for a block on a missed shot by Conklin, sending the Billiken to the line. He misses both shots with 14 minutes to go.

8:17 p.m. Pellom hits a baseline jumper and GW’s deficit is back to five. Back and forth now.

8:17 p.m. Conklin hits a jumper in the paint and Saint Louis’ lead is back to seven.

8:16 p.m. Pellom loses an offensive rebound, but gets a steal right away and dunks it to make it 32-27 with about 15 minutes left.

8:13 p.m. Mitchell drives and bounces a backdoor pass to Smith, who dunks it to give the Billikens a 32-25 advantage. Smith picks up a foul on the other end and the game heads into an official timeout with 15:50 left.

8:13 p.m. Taylor finds an open Smith on the wing and Smith knocks down the three to cut GW’s deficit to five with less than 17 minutes remaining.

8:11 p.m. Ellis makes a three and Saint Louis is up 30-22.

8:11 p.m. Kromah grabs a defensive rebound and turns to push it up the other way, but Jon Smith picks his pocket and scores for Saint Louis. Katuka scores on the other end and Saint Louis leads 27-22 with 18 minutes left.

8:09 p.m. Kromah drives to his left and draws a foul from Cassity while shooting, sending him to the line. He makes both shots, his first points, and GW now trails by five.

8:08 p.m. Reed dunks it right off the bat and Saint Louis leads 25-18.

8:08 p.m. Katuka and his three fouls and Kromah and his two are on the floor to start the second half.

7:56 p.m. Well, it hasn’t been a pretty half of basketball. Saint Louis is a methodical, defense-oriented team that likes to play at a slower pace and holds opponents to just 58.2 points per game, so things obviously weren’t going to be too up-and-down to begin with. Still, GW’s scoring struggles have been rather extreme, making just seven of 31 shots from the floor and all four of their three-pointers. Hollis, for one, is 1-for-8 shooting, while Taylor and Smith are tied for the team lead in points with just four. Smith also has a team-best five rebounds so far.

Considering how badly they’ve been shooting the ball and the fact that Kromah, their second leading scorer, played just three minutes due to foul trouble, GW isn’t in terrible shape. It’s only a five-point game, meaning just a few more possessions going their way in the second half would turn things around. They are going to need to start hitting some outside shots and stop missing their close attempts if they are going to have any chance, however, and they’ll need to come up with some consistent source of scoring rather than the sporadic drive attempts they made throughout the first 20 minutes. There’s plenty of basketball left for this to turn into any type of game and we’ll be back with more when play resumes and the awesome Anacostia Senior High School marching band finishes its performance.

7:52 p.m. Ellis hits a three and it’s 23-18 Saint Louis heading into halftime after redshirt junior Travis King misses a long three on the other end at the buzzer.

7:51 p.m. Mitchell is left open for a three in the corner and Saint Louis takes a 20-18 lead with about a minute to go in the half.

7:50 p.m. Smith collects a long offensive rebound in the corner, then hits a long two-point jumper to give GW an 18-17 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the half.

7:48 p.m. Edwards is fouled by Reed going for a rebound and heads to the line for a one-and-one. He misses the shot, freshman Tim Johnson runs into the lane to grab it, but has his shot blocked. Hollis gets a hand on it but it goes out of bounds an Saint Louis gets possession.

7:43 p.m. Opoku takes a very hard fall when he has his legs taken out from under him while leaping for a rebound, staying on the ground a bit as play shifted to the other end. He’s replaced by redshirt sophomore Jabari Edwards but appears to be okay.

7:42 p.m. Ellis scores off a pass from Reed, who spent about three weeks in the key, and Kromah drives to score on the other end, keeping the margin at one point with less than five minutes left in the half.

7:41 p.m. Opoku is fouled and hits both shots, cutting the Billikens’ lead to 15-14 with 5:42 on the clock.

7:40 p.m. Katuka picks up his third foul away from the ball on offense and is replaced by Opoku with 6:12 left before halftime.

7:39 p.m. Katuka fouls Saint Louis’ Justin Jordan, who makes one of two shots. Saint Louis leads 15-12.

7:38 p.m. Out of the timeout, the ball gets worked inside to Katuka, who lays it in to cut GW’s deficit to two.

7:37 p.m. An interesting stat during the timeout: Saint Louis is shooting 57 percent (4 of 7) from the field and GW is shooting 20 percent (4 of 20). Of course, Saint Louis has nine turnovers to GW’s two.

7:36 p.m. Freshman David Pellom draws a charge from Mitchell, sending the game into an official timeout with Saint Louis leading 14-10 with 7:12 left in the half.

7:34 p.m. Salecich just missed a three-pointer by about three feet to the right. It was not pretty.

7:34 p.m. Mitchell hits a jumper from the baseline and the Billikens lead 14-10. The pace seems to be picking up a bit with less than nine minutes on the clock.

7:33 p.m. Brian Conklin and Hollis trade buckets, making it a 12-10 Saint Louis lead with 9:28 to go in the first.

7:32 p.m. Christian Salecich, which sounds like Christian Sausage over the PA system, hits a three for Saint Louis, then Smith hits a mid-range jumper for GW. Saint Louis leads 10-8 with 10 minutes left in the half after that offensive explosion.

7:28 p.m. GW fails to score and then Kyle Cassity hits a three, giving the Billikens a 7-6 lead, which they will hold going into an official timeout at the 11:22 mark in the first half.

7:28 p.m. Reed scores in the paint, giving Saint Louis its first field goal of the game and cutting GW’s lead to 6-4.

7:25 p.m. Freshman Bryan Bynes gets a steal and breaks away for a dunk, giving GW a 6-2 lead at the 13:17 mark and prompting Majerus to call a timeout to talk things over with his Billikens.

7:24 p.m. Freshman Dwayne Smith just missed a layup, then senior Hermann Opoku missed the put-back. The ball went out of bounds and will remain GW’s with 13:54 on the clock.

7:23 p.m. It’s still 4-2, by the way. There’s 14:21 left in the half.

7:21 p.m. Taylor gets smacked and takes a tumble while taking it to the hoop. He makes the first and misses the second and GW leads 4-2.

7:19 p.m. Former Colonial Dominic Green is doing the Jet Blue Halfcourt Shootout, or whatever it’s called, and he missed both shots short, though they both seemed to be on line.

7:18 p.m. At the 15:39 mark, GW still leads 3-2. Remember the last time Saint Louis came to the Smith Center, when GW beat them 49-20? Me too. Me too.

7:15 p.m. Kromah picks up a defensive foul on one end then gets called for over-the-back on offense, sending him to the bench with two fouls in the first three minutes.

7:14 p.m. GW is having trouble getting their half-court offense running against the Billikens’ defense, but Taylor just caught a pass at the perimeter and drove to the hoop for a bucket, getting fouled in the process and hitting the free throw. GW leads 3-2 with about 17:40 left in the half.

7:11 p.m. After putting 13 seconds back on the clock to 18:47, Mitchell hits both shots. I guess it wasn’t a three.

7:08 p.m. After Ware misses a shot and the put-back, Katuka fouls Mitchell during a three-pointer and sends him to the line for three shots. I’m not sure what’s going on, but the officials are now talking to both coaches and sending the teams to their respective benches. They appear to be talking to people at the scorer’s table about the clock.

7:08 p.m. On the first possession of the game, Taylor draws a charge from Willie Reed.

6:56 p.m. GW’s starting lineup: sophomore Tony Taylor and freshman Lasan Kromah at guard, sophomore Aaron Ware and senior Damian Hollis at forward, and junior Joseph Katuka at center. Hollis came off the bench last game because of what head coach Karl Hobbs described as “sore ribs” that had prevented him from practicing the previous two days.

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Good evening readers and welcome to tonight’s live blog for the men’s basketball game against Saint Louis. GW (11-7, 1-4 Atlantic 10) enters this game riding a four-game losing streak, though three of the four losses have been pretty close and all have been against teams expected to do well in the ever-difficult A-10. Sophomore Tony Taylor had 16 points in the loss and senior Damian Hollis, the team’s leading scorer (14.7 points per game) and rebounder (5.3 boards), had nine points and six rebounds while playing with sore ribs. Taylor leads the team in assists this year and averages 3.8 per game.

The Billikens (12-6, 3-1 A-10) are, amazingly enough, actually a younger team than the Colonials. Saint Louis has just one upperclassman on the roster and he’s a junior that doesn’t appear to have played in a game this season. They start two sophomores and three freshmen and are led in scoring by 5-foot-10 sophomore Kwamain Mitchell, who averages 15.8 points per game. Freshman forward Cody Ellis, who stands 6-foot-8 and is listed at 240 pounds, and 6-foot-9, 220-pound sophomore forward Willie Reed man the post for Saint Louis. Ellis averages 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, while Reed averages 12.5 and 8.3 points and rebounds, respectively.

The most famous member of the Saint Louis program is head coach Rick Majerus, who was an extremely successful coach at the University of Utah throughout the 1990s, leading them to 10 NCAA tournament appearances in his 12 full seasons at the helm, including the 1996 Sweet Sixteen, 1997 Elite Eight, and 1998 national championship. He stepped down during the 2003-04 season due to health concerns, did some TV work, took the Southern California job for a week in 2005 before resigning due to health concerns, and then took the Saint Louis job in 2007. He is 46-35 in his two-plus seasons with the Billikens and is 13th among active head coaches with his .722 career winning percentage.

There’s still about 15 minutes until the opening tip and plenty of seating available in the Smith Center. We’ll be back in a bit with starting lineups and updates throughout the game.