THE BASICS

Score: George Washington 77, Ohio 49

Location: 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic - Stan Sheriff Center - Honolulu, Hawaii

The Short Story: Freshman guard Ryan Taylor (Gary, Ind.) tallied 13 points in the first half, but the Ohio men's basketball team (3-5) fell to George Washington, 77-49, on Monday (Dec. 22) in the opening game of the 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

OHIO STARTERS: #0 Treg Setty, #3 Javarez Willis, #5 Maurice Ndour, #14 Ryan Taylor, #33 Antonio Campbell  

GEORGE WASHINGTON STARTERS: #11 Kethan Savage, #13 Patricio Garino, #21 Kevin Larsen, #22 Joe McDonald, #34 John Kopriva

HOW IT HAPPENED 

- Ohio opened the contest just 1-of-6 from the field as George Washington raced out of the gate to an 11-2 lead powered by a trey by senior forward John Kopriva and a layup and a jumper by junior forward Kevin Larsen.

- George Washington built its largest lead of the first half at 18-8 with 11:47 to play, but the Bobcats made it a two-point contest after redshirt senior guard Javarez Willis (Homer, La.) drained a three and Taylor knocked down a jumper and nailed a trey to cut the Colonials' lead to 18-16.

- The Colonials built their advantage back up to seven points twice over the ensuing three minutes, but a jumper by senior forward Maurice Ndour and another triple by Willis made it a two-point affair again at 26-24 with eight minutes to play in the opening stanza. 

- George Washington took a nine-point lead into halftime at 43-34. 

- The Colonials outscored the Bobcats by a 34-15 count over the final 20 minutes of play and finished the contest with advantages in points in the paint (46-22), points off turnovers (21-10), second-chance points (19-7) and fast break points (10-2). George Washington went 12-of-18 (66.7%) from the free throw line and shot 47.6% from the field.

- Taylor led Ohio with 13 points and pulled down four rebounds. 

- Willis totaled nine points off of three treys. He also collected two rebounds, handed out two assists and collected a steal. 

- Ndour compiled eight points and five boards and dished out a game-high three assists. 

- Freshman guard Mike Laster (Detroit, Mich.) scored all seven of his points in the first half off of 3-of-4 shooting.

- Sophomore forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) hauled in a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points and a block. 

- Four players finished in double figures for the Colonials, with junior forward Kevin Larsen leading the way with a game-high 19 points and 15 rebounds to go along with two assists and two blocks. Junior guard Kethan Savage added 18 points, four rebounds and two assists. Junior guard/forward Patricio Garino compiled 15 points, six rebounds, an assist and a block. Senior forward John Kopriva posted 10 points and six boards.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

- Taylor finished in double digits in scoring for the fourth time in his young career.

QUOTABLE

First-Year Head Coach Saul Phillips

- "Hats off to them. They're very good. I truly believe they have a chance to win this tournament. I think they're good enough. I knew they were a good team coming in, but that doesn't make it OK that we missed out on doing some things that we've got to do better."

UP NEXT

Ohio takes on DePaul on Tuesday (Dec. 23) in a 2014 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic consolation game at the Stan Sheriff Center that will be nationally televised on ESPNU. The opening tip is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET. The winner will participate in the fifth-place game on Thursday (Dec. 25)

#SaulBall