Yuta Watanabe happily acknowledges that he loves his role as George Washington's defensive stopper, even if it wears him out like it did Thursday against Davidson.
Watanabe aggravated Wildcats guard Jack Gibbs for 34 minutes, helping the Colonials earn a 73-69 victory in their Atlantic 10 home opener.
“I’m so tired, but that’s my job, so I have to even though I’m tired,” Watanabe said. “During the game, I talked to myself and said ‘I have to do it, I have to do it.’ I thought he was kind of frustrated that I was chasing him all the time.”
Watanabe blanketed the Atlantic 10’s second-leading scorer, holding Gibbs to 16 points (nearly half of which came in the final two minutes after Watanabe picked up his fourth foul) on 7-of-19 shooting.
“He’s unbelievable — 6-9 and doing that,” senior forward Tyler Cavanaugh said. “He’s great for our team. He’s an asset that most teams don’t have, a guy who can do that and unselfishly do it. It didn’t limit him offensively tonight, but that is tough. He did a great job on Gibbs, who is one of the best players in our league if not the best.”
Cavanaugh scored 20 points and Jaren Sina added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists as George Washington (9-6, 1-1) snapped a two-game skid.
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Watanabe had 14 points of his own, but it was his performance at the other end of the floor that stymied Davidson (7-6, 0-2).
Gibbs entered the night averaging 22.9 points, and the Colonials knew his abilities all too well. The 6-foot senior averaged 28 points in two meetings with George Washington last season. But Watanabe forced the Wildcats to lean on others, including forward Peyton Aldridge (20 points).
Gibbs shot 3 for 13 before a late surge as he struggled with the lanky junior.
“[Watanabe] was disruptive to Jack,” Davidson Coach Bob McKillop said. “That is the best word to use, disruptive. Jack’s response to that has to be to let the game come to him instead of trying to force the issue.”
It was somewhat reminiscent of Watanabe’s performance in the second round of the NIT last season, when he badgered Monmouth guard Justin Robinson into a six-point night on 2-for-16 shooting.
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It was Watanabe who was frustrated earlier this season when he missed seven games with a calf injury. Thursday was just his third game back, and the difference he made for the Colonials was evident.
“He was the reason we won the game,” interim coach Maurice Joseph said. “He’s one of the most selfless teammates I’ve ever seen in my life. He wanted to guard Justin Robinson in the NIT. He wanted to guard Jack Gibbs tonight. He wants to challenge himself in that sense. For a 6-9 kid to want to do that and know he’s going to be fatigued and know he’s going to be tired, nobody wants to do that but he relishes that challenge.”
The Colonials were poised to pull away when Matt Hart’s three-pointer rattled in with 3:01 left to bump their lead to 69-60. Yet Watanabe picked up his fourth foul in the middle of Gibbs’s personal 6-0 run to narrow things entering the final minute.
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George Washington nearly had its fifth empty possession in a row, but Cavanaugh tipped an errant shot to maintain possession and Sina made four free throws in the final 30 seconds.
It was a turnaround from Friday, when the Colonials faded in a road loss at Saint Joseph's. This marked progress for a team with four freshmen and a sophomore in its 10-man rotation against Davidson.
It was also a reminder of the value of an eager defensive ace whose size provides problems even for the most productive of opposing guards.
“That’s a wolf wanting to hunt for the good of the pack,” Joseph said.
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