Washington, D.C. – George Washington overcame some first half struggles on offense to pull away from UCF in the second half to win 74-59. Sophomore 6-1 shooting guard Jordan Roland caught fire in the second half scoring 22 of his career high 27 points to help close the deal. UCF struggled immensely on the offensive end throughout the night. Without leading scorer and point guard B.J. Taylor, the Knights lacked any flow on offense and struggled to get massive sophomore big man Tacko Fall (7’6 290) involved until late in the second half. Second leading scorer 6-5 Matt Williams also struggled shooting going just 4-of-15 from the field.
This was not a pretty game for the Knights of UCF on either end of the floor. Without a true point guard on the floor they struggled to set their offense and did not get many open looks. When they did score it came off one on one offense and breaking down their man. Tacko Fall did not get much opportunity in the first half. When he did get the ball in the post with position he struggled to make quick moves to score. On several occasions he turned right into double teams and either missed a short shot or got it blocked. The second half was much more encouraging for Fall. He was more decisive finishing several post ups with massive one handed dunks over defenders. He was also much more active on the offensive glass. Tacko also made an impact as a rim protector making sure that players either pulled up for jumpers or stayed on the perimeter entirely. Fall is impossible to stop when he has deep post position. His length allows him to shoot overtop of any defender with ease. He is still raw, but his potential is very high. Fall finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four blocks. Matt Williams finished with eleven points, 3 three-pointers and six rebounds.
For GW the second half provided a lot of promise as they will begin conference play at the end of the month. Roland showed that he can be a huge threat from the perimeter moving forward. In the last three games combined he is 10-of-18 from three, including five in his game. Roland found himself open often and he did not hesitate to launch from deep. Shooting over 41percent from three on the year, he is the Colonials biggest threat from the perimeter. Roland showed an aggressiveness on offense that GW will have to rely on, if star 6-9 power forward Tyler Cavanaugh is having an off night.
With an NBA ready offensive skill set Cavanaugh is trying to go out on a high note in his senior year. He can play inside and out causing the defense to have to prepare to play him either way. He has the ability to post smaller defenders, scoring with a polished inside game. Cavanaugh is also the prototypical pick and pop player. He shoots the ball confidently and fluidly when coming off the pick and roll. There are times when Tyler could be more aggressive looking to score to exploit his matchups, but he is an unselfish player always looking to play within the system. Cavanaugh heated up in the second half and finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three assists.
Tacko Fall will be closely watched over for the remainder of this season by NBA scouts. We feel he should play through this year and the next before declaring for the draft. He will still need a lot of time in the D-League either way.
As for Tyler Cavanaugh, he is a late second round prospect this year. He should get an opportunity to play summer league and catch on for a training camp invite with his versatile offensive game.
Up next for GW is Thursday, December 22nd @ Miami. Up next for UCF is Sunday, December 18 vs. Miami (OH)
This article was written by Greg Walter, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can subscribe to our RSS feed from the upper right corner of our home page, follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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