Garino's 16 lead George Washington past Richmond, 73-61

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) The last time Patricio Garino and George Washington saw Richmond was ''heartbreaking,'' the senior forward said, recalling a 98-90 double-overtime loss on its home court in late January.

Garino made sure it didn't happen again Wednesday night, scoring all 16 of his points in the second half and fueling a decisive 14-4 run in a 73-61 victory.

''This was definitely a revenge game for us,'' Garino, one of three seniors in the starting lineup, said after the Colonials' third straight victory.

''This time of the year, it's very fundamental to stay focused all the time, but I think our experience is paying off now,'' Garino said.

Kevin Larsen scored 14 and Tyler Cavanaugh and Joe McDonald added 13 each for the Colonials (21-7, 10-5 Atlantic 10). George Washington won despite a scoring drought of more than four minutes in the closing minutes because Richmond went more than six minutes without a field goal and scored just two points in that stretch.

''Our defensive pressure increased and we rebounded better,'' McDonald said of the second half, when George Washington outrebounded Richmond 21-12. ''We were the aggressor I felt like, in the second half, pushing in transition, getting to the free-throw line, and when we do that, it kind of helped open up the game for us.''

Terry Allen scored 16 points to lead the Spiders (14-13, 6-9), who lost their third in a row. T.J. Cline added 15 and 10 rebounds.

The Spiders rallied from a 43-38 deficit to pull even at 45, then went cold as the Colonials took command.

''It was pretty frustrating,'' Allen said, ''but we have to look past that and try to keep our composure and try to keep our heads in the game and move on to the next play.''

Paul Jorgensen's 3-pointer sparked the decisive run after the Spiders pulled even. Matt Hart added a pair of free throws and Garino made a 3-pointer following a bucket by the Spiders' Julius Johnson. After Allen scored for Richmond, Garino added an inside basket, Alex Mitola hit a pair of free throws and Garino added a pair to finish the burst, which put the Colonials ahead 59-49 with 7:27 to play. Richmond got no closer than eight the rest of the way.

Richmond was within 53-49 after Allen's basket with 9:07 to play, then got only a pair of free throws from Jones over the next six minutes before Cline's 3-point play with 2:58 remaining made it 62-54.

George Washington scored the last seven points of the first half to lead 32-30 at the break.

Trailing 23-14 after a 14-3 run by the Colonials, the Spiders answered with a 16-2 burst to lead 30-25.

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HOMECOURT EDGE?

George Washington finished 24 for 31 from the free throw line, and the host Spiders were just 9 of 14.

TIP-INS:

George Washington: Garino, the Colonials' No. 2 scorer with a 13.8 average, didn't score until the 17:24 mark of the second half. ... Cavanaugh, who started the game shooting 87.6 percent from the free-throw line, missed four of six from the stripe before halftime. He'd missed only 18 of 145 previously.

Richmond: Jones, the Spiders No. 3 scorer with a 15.3 average, didn't score until he hit a 13-foot jumper 2:56 before halftime. He finished with just eight points on 3 for 9 shooting. ... The Spiders started the night averaging 10.3 turnovers per game, but had nine by halftime and finished with 13.

UP NEXT

George Washington is at home against VCU on Saturday.

Richmond travels to Pittsburgh to play Duquesne on Saturday.

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