George Washington beats Saint Joseph's in A-10 opener, 70-64

Dec 30, 2017, 11:14 pm

WASHINGTON -- Yuta Watanabe scored 18 points and Arnaldo Toro grabbed 12 rebounds and scored 10 points and George Washington held off Saint Joseph's 70-64 on Saturday in an Atlantic 10 opener.

James Demery made a pair of layups early in the second half to bring the Hawks within 32-27 before George Washington (8-6) went on a 15-2 run and lead by 18 with 13:55 to play.

Shavar Newkirk made four of Saint Joseph's five free throws in less than a minute to reduce the deficit to 66-60 with 1:22 left but the Hawks missed 4 of 5 from the field down the stretch.

Watanabe started George Washington's scoring with a jump shot and a 3, Jair Bolden followed with back-to-back 3s and the Colonials led 11-5 and never trailed during the contest.

Watanabe added another jumper and a 3 for a 22-10 lead before Saint Joseph's used an 8-2 run to close within 24-18 on Chris Clover's jump shot. But Terry Nolan Jr. responded with a back to 3s and pushed the lead to 12.

Demery led Saint Joseph's (5-7) with 24 points.