The exhibition matchup local college basketball fans were waiting all offseason to see proved to be every bit worth the wait, as George Washington and Georgetown reunited on the hardwood 44 years after they last met in front of a sold-out Smith Center and the largest crowd GW has seen since 2016.
The D.C., matchup was everything a rivalry should be: hard-fought, intense, physical and even somewhat testy from the jump. GW took its upper-tier Atlantic 10 roster to the test against the Big East foe and fought end-to-end for 40 minutes in the 73-64 loss.
All A-10 big man Rafael Castro, who played for Georgetown Head Coach Ed Cooley at Providence, showed his big-time bonafides with an all-around effort with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, four blocks and two steals.
All A-10 sophomore guard Christian Jones finished with a team-high 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while transfer swingman Bubu Benjamin had 11 points in 27:55 of court time in a reserve role, leading Cooley to remark to the GW faithful that "y'all have a good team."
GW President Ellen M. Granberg was interviewed on the GW Pregame Live show before the game against Georgetown started.
The standing-room-only student crowd saw George Washington playing 10 players, with nine getting at least nine minutes of court time. The game also marked the return of Garrett Johnson, who missed all of last season after tearing an ACL.
With both coaches identifying the special atmosphere created by the neighbor schools, both teams got what they wanted on what GW Head Coach Chris Caputo called "a great night for D.C. basketball."