Prep boys basketball state tournament: GW continues redemption season with state win

So what has been the difference? GW coach Rick Greene attributes the change to the Patriots’ character.

“We play a lot of kids,” Greene said. “When somebody comes out, they’re not pouting. And when you’re on the bench, you are cheering for the guy coming out. It all starts with the character of the kids.

“As far as the turnaround, we just try to get better every day. We had been here [in the state tournament] seven straight times [before missing it in 2024]. It’s an expectation. So when we start on Day 1, that’s our goal. And we want to get to the tournament and see what we can do. Our work ethic and togetherness is just phenomenal.”

The change from last season to this season has been such that the Patriots have dominated opponents to the point where they have played few close contests.

Of GW’s 20 wins this season, not one has been decided by fewer than 10 points. A one-point loss to Spring Valley in the Mountain State Athletic Conference championship game has been the Patriots’ only game against an in-state opponent decided by single digits.

During the regular season, 15 of GW’s 18 wins were by 20 points or more, garnering them a 27.5-point average winning margin. Four wins were by at least 30 points.

“This was a great game for us because we haven’t had that many close games,” Greene said after the Patriots’ 48-38 region co-final win over St. Albans. “We haven’t been in that situation a whole lot.”

With the domination comes the problem of familiarity with crucial down-to-the-wire moments or last possessions.

“We set it up in practice. We do time and score a lot; we scrimmage as if everything is the fourth quarter. But it’s nothing like really in a game,” Greene said. “And some of it [dominating games] was in the schedule. Some of the teams that are normally very good are having down years.”

However, the Patriots work to be prepared for those situations, should they be needed to advance at the state tournament level. Adding a game late in the season against Morgantown helped, Greene said, even if GW lost 57-35 up north on March 6.

“That was our biggest fear coming into the tournament,” Greene said of being unprepared in a tight situation late. “And that’s why we went to Morgantown. Even though we got beat, it toughens you up. And you gotta try to execute under pressure. The schedule helped us coming down the stretch. And we just do the best we can and rely on the kids. It’s not a coaching thing. We just try to prep them best we can, and then it’s on the kids.”

George Washington has an opportunity to earn redemption for the 22-point loss to Morgantown as the Patriots meet the Mohigans in the semifinals scheduled for 7:15 p.m. on Friday.