Howard Overwhelmed in Second Half by George Washington
Washington, DC-January 2—Joseph Katuka scored nine of his team-high 16 points in the second half and David Pellom came off the bench to tally all seven of his points after intermission to help George Washington University break open a close game and cruise to an 85-50 win over Howard University in a non-conference game at Burr Gymnasium.
The two teams went back and forth, taking turns with mini runs in the first 20 minutes until the Colonials (7-6) finished the half with a 9-4 run take a 41-36 lead at the half. Nemanja Mikic supplied most of the offense by connecting on 4 of 5 from the three=point range for 12 of his 15 points. The Bison (2-10) were led by Dadrian Collins, who scored 12 of his team-high 16 points.
Then George Washington put the game away with an 18-4 run and never looked back. The Colonials shot 54 percent from the floor (17 of 30). They were able to get 25 points off easy transition baskets, courtesy of 22 Howard turnovers. George Washington was also able to dominate the inside, getting 28 points in the paint.
After shooting a respectable 48 percent in the first 20 minutes, the Bison made only 6 of 18 in the final stanza.
Collins led Howard with 16 while Mike Phillips just missed a double-double with 11 points and 9 rebounds. Anton Dickerson and Kyle Riley each contributed seven points in the loss.
In addition to Katuka's 16 points, the Colonials got 15 from Mikic, 12 from Dwayne Smith and 11 from Tony Taylor.
NEXT UP: The Colonials open Atlantic 10 play on Wednesday when they host LaSalle at the Smith center at 7 pm while the Bison travel to Charlottesville, VA to take on the University of Virginia on Tuesday at 7 pm.