GW Men's Hoops Welcomes D-II #8 Bowie State for Exhibition

WHO: GW Men's Basketball and New Head Coach Mike Lonergan
WHAT: Exhibition Game vs. Bowie State
WHERE: Charles E. Smith Center, 600 22nd Street NW
WHEN: Sunday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m.
HOW: Buy Tickets
VIDEO: GW All-Access
AUDIO: FederalNewsRadio.com, 1500 AM (Byron Kerr, Yegor Mescheriakov)
STATS: GameTracker
PROMOTION: Colonial Army Distribution Night - First 500 members will receive Colonials Basketball pinnie

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The much anticipated debut of the 2011-12 George Washington men's basketball team and new head coach Mike Lonergan happens this Sunday when the Colonials host NCAA Division II nationally ranked Bowie State to Charles E. Smith Center for a preseason exhibition at 6 p.m.

Preseason First Team All-Atlantic 10 selection Tony Taylor and fellow captains Jabari Edwards and Aaron Ware will lead the Colonials as they tip-off the 2011-12 campaign on the court while new head coach Mike Lonergan ushers in a new era of GW Basketball from the sideline.

Lonergan, a Bowie, Md., native, will walk the Smith Center sidelines for the first time after returning to his roots following six seasons as head coach at Vermont. Entering his 19th season as a head coach, Lonergan owns an overall record of 377-156, with 15 winning seasons and 13 NCAA Tournament victories, including a NCAA Division III National Championship at his alma mater Catholic University in 2001.

While Lonergan and his coaching staff are new, Colonials' backers will recognize a slew of returning talent for GW when the team takes the floor on Sunday evening, as four starters and 10 letterwinners return to a team that won 17 games and tied for fourth in the Atlantic 10 Conference last season.

Bowie State, meanwhile, will prove to be a worthy exhibition foe for the Colonials as it makes the short trip to Foggy Bottom ranked eighth in the NCAA Division II preseason national poll. The Bulldogs reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season and won the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) North Division crown with an 11-1 mark, while finishing a CIAA best 16-2 in the conference and 23-6 overall.

Head coach Darrell Brooks, a former GW assistant, has four returning seniors on his squad, headlined by 7-foot center Travis Hyman, who caught the eye of NBA scouts with a CIAA-high 104 blocks last season. Hyman also checked in with 15.2 points per outing and claimed CIAA Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2010-11.

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