KINGSTON, R.I., March 5 -- Instead of dusting off an old-school inspirational speech prior to Saturday's game at Rhode Island, George Washington Coach Karl Hobbs stepped to the dry-erase board and scribbled one word: "Dream."
Following their 68-39 thumping of Rhode Island in front of 6,306 at Ryan Center, the Colonials realized one of their preseason dreams by wrapping up the Atlantic 10's West Division championship. However, George Washington (19-7, 11-5) likely has work to do if it wants to realize its greater ambition: an NCAA tournament bid.
Still, Hobbs was having no part of any talk about what his team has to do in the Atlantic 10 tournament when it opens Wednesday in Cincinnati.
George Washington, which has never won the conference tournament, will have a first-round bye and face Fordham or Duquesne on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. The Colonials beat Duquesne twice during the regular season by a combined score of 161-114, and beat Fordham, 80-70, on Feb. 16.
"I'm just not going to do that right now," Hobbs said. "I'm not. I really want to enjoy the ride. And that's what I'm going to do. 19-7, that's a great record. That's a lot to be proud of. Three years ago we went through a 10-game losing streak so I'm realistic. I'm not going to allow some guys sitting in a room somewhere dictate what kind of season we've had."
The Colonials certainly looked like an NCAA tournament team while breaking open a close game with a 19-7 run that spanned the end of the first half and the start of the second.
Rhode Island (6-21, 4-12) was coming off home victories over Saint Joseph's and Temple and dictated the pace of the game early with physical play. The Rams led 13-11 with 10 minutes 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
George Washington swingman J.R. Pinnock, who scored a team-high 17 points and made 6 of 9 shots, swished consecutive three-pointers to open up a 21-15 lead, and the Colonials never looked back.
Though forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu battled early foul trouble and was limited to six points in 14 minutes, guard Carl Elliott played one of his better all-around games of the season, scoring 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting while dishing out six assists and grabbing five steals. Eleven Colonials scored.
Rhode Island shot 25.5 percent, hit only 4 of 18 three-point attempts and committed 18 turnovers. Forward Scott Hazelton led the Rams with 12 points, but no other Rhode Island player scored more than nine.
After showing some spunk early -- Hazelton and forward Marcel Momplaisir were throwing elbows and trading trash talk with the Colonials throughout the first half -- the Rams looked like a thoroughly defeated team while scoring only 12 second-half points.
The blowout victory in front of a national television audience doesn't guarantee anything in terms of the NCAA tournament, but it was a welcome break for the Colonials after two straight tight games.
"This is the first time that I've been a part of a championship team, so I'm kind of used to being in their predicament, coming out and playing with nothing to lose," Pinnock said. "They didn't just roll over. We had to fight and really crack down with our defense to put them away in the second half. We're at our best when we rebound and play defense like that."
The Colonials will need to be at their best in Cincinnati because winning the conference tournament is the only way to guarantee an NCAA tournament bid. One year after sending four teams (St. Joseph's, Xavier, Dayton and Richmond), the Atlantic 10 could be limited to one bid for the first time since 2001-2002.
"Everything changes now because you know you have to win to keep playing," Pinnock said. "It's strange, but that's what you sat there watching on TV when you were in high school, wanting to be a part of it. It's why you come to a place like George Washington, so you can experience these games. It's going to be fun."
Colonial Notes: Hobbs stayed in New England with members of his family following the game. On Thursday morning, Hobbs's nephew, Jerome Hobbs, was killed in a car crash outside of Boston. He was 31.
• XAVIER 74, DAYTON 65: Stanley Burrell scored a game-high 25 points and Will Caudle came off the bench to record a double-double in the Musketeers' win over the visiting Flyers.
Xavier (16-11, 10-6) never trailed in a win that gave the Musketeers a bye in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Dayton (17-10, 10-6) ended the regular season with two losses in its last three games.
