In the final few moments, George Washington guard J.R. Pinnock hopped up and down as if on a spring. Forward Pops Mensah-Bonsu grabbed the last wayward Michigan State shot, secured it solidly in two hands and spiked it off the court. There it was, the perfect punctuation to the Colonials' most significant victory since any of the current players, not to mention Coach Karl Hobbs, arrived in town.
GW thoroughly outplayed 11th-ranked Michigan State yesterday, driving and defending its way to a 96-83 victory in the second semifinal of the BB&T Classic at MCI Center. The Colonials will have a chance at another upset today at 3 p.m. in the championship game against 12th-ranked Maryland, which beat George Mason, 78-54.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu slams down two of his 23 points over Michigan State's Paul Davis.
(Joel Richardson - The Washington Post)
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Mensah-Bonsu led five Colonials in double figures with 23 points, GW shot 65 percent in the second half, forced 22 turnovers, and generally looked like the quicker, smarter, more physical team.
With guard T.J. Thompson adding 18 points, with backcourt mate Carl Elliott tossing in 17 with six assists, and with the Colonials out rebounding the Spartans, it was the kind of win that must say volumes about the kind or program Hobbs is building, right?
"I'm not sure what it says," Hobbs said afterward. "And I mean that sincerely."
What it says, in all likelihood, is that the preseason prognostications -- those that said the Colonials (4-1) would contend for the Atlantic 10 title and advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time in Hobbs's four years -- might be right. GW hadn't beaten a ranked opponent since Dec. 2, 2000, when it beat No. 19 St. John's in this event.
Michigan State Coach Tom Izzo was upset with his team afterward, but he was clear about his feelings regarding the Colonials.
"I'm not very happy with my team," Izzo said. "But that's a good basketball team. We didn't get beat by some chopped-liver team. I mean, don't kid yourself: They're going to win a lot of games -- a lot of games. They play hard. They've got depth. They've got guys who can shoot it. . . . They all go to the boards."
And they did it from the opening tip yesterday, and then seized the momentum for good during the final six minutes of the first half. With the Spartans (3-2) up by two, Thompson nailed a three-pointer from the left wing. The key, though, came immediately thereafter, when center Paul Davis, the Spartans' talented but inconsistent inside force, fouled Mensah-Bonsu, his third of the first half. Though Mensah-Bonsu hit only the front end of the ensuing one-and-one, the four-point swing put GW up 30-28, and Davis went to the bench, not to reappear until the second half.
From there, the Colonials rolled. That initial spurt was followed by a 10-0 run, including two three-pointers from reserve Ricky Lucas. Things were getting dangerously close to being a blowout.
"We didn't come out the way we needed to," Spartans guard Chris Hill said. "We can't do that."
Michigan State hadn't scored fewer than 36 points in a half this year, nor had it given up more than 44. Yet after 20 minutes yesterday, GW led the Spartans, 49-38, and Davis had basically been taken out of the game. He finished with just seven points in 19 minutes, during which time he turned over the ball four times and struggled with Mensah-Bonsu throughout.
Davis wasn't the only Spartan who struggled, though. Before the tip-off, Izzo talked to his team about three keys: Stop the Colonials' drives, get back in transition defense and limit turnovers. Instead, it was as if the Colonials had pregame access to Izzo's list and decided to pick them off one by one. Thompson constantly penetrated, either to score or to pass. The Colonials shot 57 percent for the game and scored 50 points in the paint in large part because the Spartans didn't get back on defense. And while GW turned over the ball 19 times, those mistakes were negated by MSU's own.
"We just did not play intelligently," Izzo said. "I thought they played harder. I thought they wanted it more, and I'm embarrassed to say that."
When Thompson pushed the lead to 15 points seven minutes into the second half, it became apparent that GW would have nothing to be embarrassed about. MSU got to within 80-74 with 5:27 remaining, but GW went on a 10-2 spurt, and that was it.
Afterward, it was clear that Hobbs's relentless mantra -- that the Colonials must strive for consistency -- had gotten through to his players. "This is only the first step," Thompson said.
But Hobbs did allow himself a smile -- with perspective.
"Today's game was great," he said. "I'm really happy for these guys. But I'll be screaming and shouting at them tomorrow. Our goal is to try to win the Atlantic 10 championship, and to try to be in the NCAA tournament -- and that's it."
