WASHINGTON — Tu Holloway's layup with 30 seconds to play capped off a great night for the senior guard as his 21 points, seven assists and six rebounds led Xavier to a 59-58 win over George Washington on Wednesday night.
Holloway easily maneuvered past the Colonials for the decisive score. With 1:14 to play, his layup cut George Washington's lead to 58-57.
Xavier (15-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10 Conference) held the Colonials (8-14, 3-5) scoreless for the last 3:22.
Tony Taylor led George Washington with 20 points. Nemanja Mikic scored 19 points and Lasan Kromah had 11 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
There were nine lead changes in the last 9 minutes, and neither team committed a turnover in the last 10 minutes.
Taylor, who made his first four 3-pointers, and Mikic combined to shoot 9 of 14 from 3-point range.
In the last 4 seconds, the Colonials had three chances to win, but Bryan Bynes, Dwayne Smith and Kromah missed shots.
George Washington took what looked like a decisive lead when Mikic drilled a 3-pointer with 4:32 left to make it 56-54. Over the previous 4 1/2 minutes, the lead changed hands eight times.
The Colonials took a 44-37 lead on Kromah's layup with 13:13 remaining, but the Musketeers clawed back and took a 48-47 lead on Kenny Frease's three-point play with 9:03 left.
After George Washington took a 21-13 lead midway through the first half, Xavier scored 10 unanswered points for a 23-21 lead, but the Colonials led 34-31 at halftime, thanks to 13 first-half points by Mikic.
The Musketeers won their first eight games — the eighth was the infamous Dec. 10 brawl against Cincinnati — and are just 7-7 since.
Under first-year coach Mike Lonergan, the Colonials lost 10 of their first 15.
