GW Men's Basketball Coach Karl Hobbs Departs

Under uncertain circumstances, Karl Hobbs is leaving his position as head coach of the GW Men's Basketball team.

Around 4pm this afternoon, social media exploded with the news that Hobbs had either stepped down or been removed from his coaching position. From students to seasoned college sports writers, the story is still varied as to whether Hobbs was fired or chose to resign from the post. This news comes just days after the appointment of Patrick Nero to replace Jack Kvancz as GW's Athletic Director. One of Hobbs's last public appearances was as an attendee at a forum hosted by WRGW District Radio two weeks ago, a discussion with Kvancz and veteran sportswriter John Feinstein.

Tune in and CALL IN: (202) 994-9749 as WRGW Sports discusses Hobbs's tenure at GW, the circumstances of his departure, and the future of GW Men's Basketball.

Go to GWRadio.com to listen live

Colonials dominate, 81-72

The GW Men's Basketball team emerged victorious from tonight's game against the LaSalle Explorers at the Charles E. Smith Center. The final score was 81-72. Tonight's game was the third-to-last home game of the season - the remaining two are this Saturday at 6 p.m. and Wednesday March 3rd at 7 p.m.

88 student athletes were honored at half time for making the Athletic Dean's List; some even managed a 4.0 despite their commitments to their respective sports.

Click here to see our Flickr photostream with images from tonight's game, as well as some past games from the 2009-2010 season.

Celebrating 278 Years of George Washington

At most schools, students, administration, and faculty alike wouldn’t think to celebrate their founder’s birthday.

But then again, none of those schools can count our nation’s first President as their founder.

Monday night the Continental Ballroom was host to a fife and drum band, Senior VP Robert Chernak, 6 cherry-pie-eating contestants, and a few dozen students to celebrate George Washington’s 278th birthday. The event, moved inside because of the rain, featured said pie-eating contest and the announcement of the finalists for the Mr. GW and Ms. GW contestants.

The GW Men’s Basketball team and a few members of the Women’s Basketball team were also on hand to wish Mr. President a happy birthday. Senior Damian Hollis addressed the crowd, telling them to come to the team’s last home games of the season coming up in the next few weeks. His reminder that these would be his own last home games at GW drew a few saddened cries.

Goody bags were abundant at the sparsely-attended bash. Inside were slightly stale marshmallows, a stick of chocolate, and pre-wrapped graham crackers to virtually roast by the virtual bonfire raging on a screen on the far side of the room. This marks the third time in four years that George Washington’s birthday has been moved due to weather.

GW isn’t the only local institution honoring George Washington’s birthday. A GW Birthday Classic 10K is held annually in Alexandria, Virginia. Their event was actually canceled this year due to the snow that demobilized the city for days.

Click image above to go to our Flickr stream with more images of George Washington's 278th birthday celebration at the George Washington University!

Colonials Fall to Friars – 110-97

The Providence College Friars narrowly defeated the GW Colonials 110-97 tonight at the Charles E. Smith Center. This game marked the first match-up between the two teams in 10 years.

Colonials (5-1) Derail Patriots (3-4) in Battle of The Orange Line

The much-hyped “Battle of The Orange Line” turned out to be a huge success for the Colonial basketball team. Led by a career high 25 points by senior Damian Hollis and a fired up Smith Center crowd, the George Washington Colonials beat the George Mason Patriots 66-49 and improved their record to 5 and 1 on the season. Following a disappointing loss to Oregon State on Saturday, the Colonials scored the first 5 points and never lost the lead throughout the night as they clearly dominated George Mason in all facets of the game.

The Patriots were led by freshman Luke Hancock who scored a game high 15 points for the Patriots. The team was devastated by a first half injury to junior point Cam Long, who did not perform well after the injury. In addition, forward Mark Morrison was plagued by foul trouble and played just 17 minutes of the game. The Patriots only managed to shoot 36 percent from the field and were out-rebounded 43 to 30 by the Colonials

The Patriots only trailed 35-27 at the half, but the Colonials opened the half with a 22-4 run and led by as great a margin as 26 throughout the course of the game. The Colonials got a dominating performance by senior forward Damian Hollis, who scored a career high 25 points and pulled down 8 rebounds as well. Also chipping in for GW were Lasan Kromah with 8 points and Joesph Katuka, who scored 7 points in only 8 minutes of play. Senior Hermann Opoku also pulled down 8 rebounds, while Kromah and freshman guard Bryan Bynes grabbed 3 steals a a piece.

On the season, the Colonials improve to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the newly renovated Charles E. Smith Center. George Washington had a clear home court advantage tonight as a fired up crowd led by the Colonial Army provided the team with the energy and support needed to ensure the victory. The Colonials will next take on the Midshipmen of Navy at the Verizon Center in the BB&T Classic this Sunday at 5 p.m. As always, you can hear the game live by tuning into WRGW at www.gwradio.com

Colonials Dominate Maryland-Baltimore Retrievers

Freshman Lasan Kromah lead the GW’s Men’s Basketball team with a 21 point performance today as the Colonials defeat Maryland-Baltimore-County 94-51.

The Colonials were dominant from the start, scoring the game’s first nine points. They went into halftime with a 59-28 lead after an 8-minute 33-15 run.

20 of Kromah’s points came in the first half. Damian Hollis scored 12 points.

The win continues GW’s three game winning streak. Maryland-Baltimore-County is winless after three games.

Nine Straight Losses for Men's Basketball

After finishing last season ranked thirteenth out of the 14 teams in the Atlantic 10 conference and failing to even participate in the conference tournament that they had won the previous year, many thought that the GW Men’s Basketball team had no where to go but up. Those hopes were briefly validated when the Men won 6 of their first 8 games this season. However, the team has yet to win a game in 2009.

Last night’s double overtime loss to Rhode Island was GW’s 9th consecutive defeat. The men’s team is now 6 and 11 for the season and 0 and 5 in conference play. The only team ranked lower in the Atlantic 10 is Fordham.

The Colonials were dominant for the first three-quarters of the game and briefly led Rhode Island by 12 points. However, URI tied the score with nine and a half minutes left in the second half. Neither team would lead by more than 5 points for the remainder of the game. Rhode Island’s Lamonte Ulmer scored a field goal with 35 seconds left in the second half to tie the game at 68 all. The only shot taken during GW’s final possession in regulation was a missed two-point jump shot by Wynton Witherspoon with 2 seconds left on the clock. The lack of scoring attempts in the final seconds made it obvious that head coach Karl Hobbs was looking to win overtime. The Colonials survived the first round of extra game play and with just 10 seconds left in the second overtime GW only needed one three-point shot to force another period. A foul on Aaron Ware gave Ulmer two free throws. Both shots were good and sealed the game for Rhode Island.

With only 11 games left in the regular season, GW needs to pick up some in conference wins if they want the trip to Atlantic City for the A-10 tournament. The Colonials’ next game is on Wednesday, January 28th at La Salle University.

-Joe Lewis