BECKLEY,. W.Va. - George Washington basketball Coach Rick Greene spent much of the fourth quarter coaching Thursday night as if he were in a Patriots practice.
Coaches can often do that when their teams don't miss a shot until 1:10 remains in the first quarter.
GW (10-4) played what Greene called its most patient game of the season at the Big Atlantic Classic on Thursday, and rolled to a 55-31 win over previously unbeaten Fairmont Senior (13-1).
"We changed after (Tuesday's loss to) South Charleston. We have good kids, but they're kids. In the game at South Charleston, from that point on it became 'If you're going to do it, you're going to do it this way,'" Greene said.
"In other words, we're not going to take a (bad) shot, we're going to play more tempo control and buy into it, or your career's over."
GW shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the win, which began with a 10-0 Patriot run and was never close. George Washington junior power forward Dustin Crouser led all players with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Crouser, whose presence in the post has recently emerged as GW's steadiest weapon, had 10 of his points in the first half, and sank 7-of-8 field goal attempts.
"Coach Greene's been talking all year that it starts in the post, and then you work your way out," Crouser said. "We've really started doing that and it's freeing up everybody else to shoot 3s. Me and Thomas (Francke, the Patriots' senior center) have been finishing down low and it's really helped us."
Fairmont Senior never mounted a threat, and shot just 27 percent in the game.
"We were flat. Offensively, our movement wasn't there. We didn't move the ball well tonight," Polar Bears Coach Dave Retton said. "We didn't cut well against their defense. You look at our point total, and it was a rough, tough night for us."
BECKLEY,. W.Va. - George Washington basketball Coach Rick Greene spent much of the fourth quarter coaching Thursday night as if he were in a Patriots practice.
Coaches can often do that when their teams don't miss a shot until 1:10 remains in the first quarter.
GW (10-4) played what Greene called its most patient game of the season at the Big Atlantic Classic on Thursday, and rolled to a 55-31 win over previously unbeaten Fairmont Senior (13-1).
"We changed after (Tuesday's loss to) South Charleston. We have good kids, but they're kids. In the game at South Charleston, from that point on it became 'If you're going to do it, you're going to do it this way,'" Greene said.
"In other words, we're not going to take a (bad) shot, we're going to play more tempo control and buy into it, or your career's over."
GW shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the win, which began with a 10-0 Patriot run and was never close. George Washington junior power forward Dustin Crouser led all players with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Crouser, whose presence in the post has recently emerged as GW's steadiest weapon, had 10 of his points in the first half, and sank 7-of-8 field goal attempts.
"Coach Greene's been talking all year that it starts in the post, and then you work your way out," Crouser said. "We've really started doing that and it's freeing up everybody else to shoot 3s. Me and Thomas (Francke, the Patriots' senior center) have been finishing down low and it's really helped us."
Fairmont Senior never mounted a threat, and shot just 27 percent in the game.
"We were flat. Offensively, our movement wasn't there. We didn't move the ball well tonight," Polar Bears Coach Dave Retton said. "We didn't cut well against their defense. You look at our point total, and it was a rough, tough night for us."
Fairmont was coming off a one-point overtime win on Wednesday night over archrival East Fairmont. Greene said that likely had a hand in the team's lack of energy.
"Dave's too classy to use that as an excuse, but let's face it, that's hard to do," Greene said.
After Crouser had established himself as a force in the paint, GW junior guard Luke Eddy was able to get into the swing of things. He didn't take a shot from the floor in the first half, but finished with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and two steals.
"He told me to control the pace. I played a lot of minutes, and when you're running up and down the court the whole time you get a little tired," Eddy said.
"But keeping it half-court the way we did, we were perfectly fine with it."
The Patriots also shot 50 percent from 3-point range, with seniors Tino DiTrapano and Darian Williams each making two of four attempts. DiTrapano finished with 12 points and three assists.
Fairmont Senior guard Van Jones led his team with eight points. The Polar Bears were the last remaining undefeated team in Class AAA.
GW will return to the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center on Saturday to face the winner of today's game between Greenbrier East and Parkersburg South.
Contact Preps Editor Derek Taylor at derek.tay...@dailymail.com or 304-348-5170.
