USA Today
The men’s basketball team defeated George Washington 58-54 Sunday to move to 5-0 for the first time since the 2009-10 season.
The Pirates, behind freshmen Isaiah Whitehead and senior Brandon Mobley, were forced to play ‘catch-up’ for most of the second half. They led 25-23 at halftime, but the Colonials came out of the second half much faster than the Pirates did. It was not until a Mobley jumper at 10:15 left in the game that the Pirates were able to re-tie the score at 38-38.
From there, it was Mobley and Whitehead who took over, and clutch free throws and a three-point shot from Whitehead at the six-minute mark propelled the Pirates to victory.
The Pirates shot just 19-for-47 from the field, but the aforementioned free throws, with George Washington over the foul limit for most of the second half, picked up the slack.
“As bad as we struggled offensively, you’ve got to give them (Pirates) credit,” head coach Kevin Willard said after the win.
There is no question, the first couple of weeks of the new season has been a learning curve for Willard and his group. However, Willard is making sure the fast start to the campaign is not getting to his player’s heads, especially the freshmen.
“With a young group, only thing we’re concentrated on is who we’re playing next,” Willard said. “We can’t look at the fact that we’re 5-0 and that’s great. We need to look at it as we’re 5-0 and have Mount Saint Mary’s next.”
Since struggling in the season opener against Mercer, Whitehead has started to come into his own for the Pirates, scoring eight points against Nevada and Gardner Webb, and 18 points against Illinois State. The freshmen finished with 15 points, five assists and six rebounds in the win.
“It’s just about facilitating first,” Whitehead said. “I feel I facilitate more, the defense will back off me a bit and open up a few more shots for me.”
Willard attested to his young player’s turnaround.
“I’ve put a very loose leash on Isaiah (Whitehead),” Willard said. “But I think he’s getting very comfortable with who he’s playing with.”
As a unit, the freshmen seem to be getting more comfortable on the floor. Willard said it is a product of their high school playing days,
“When you have guys that come from winning programs, they make winning plays,” Willard said.
The Pirates are hoping to become a winning program of their own, and this 5-0 start is simply just that—a start.
From here, the Pirates will face Mount Saint Mary’s on Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 7 p.m. at the Prudential Center.
David Heim can be reached at david.heim@student.shu.edu or on twitter @davidheim12.
