GAME NOTES: The George Washington Colonials tip off their Atlantic 10 Conference schedule on Saturday afternoon as they tangle with the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Hagan Arena.

Since being handled at Penn State back on Dec. 14 by a score of 64-51, the Colonials have rattled off four straight victories. The most recent triumph came against VMI at home on Tuesday by a score of 80-60. The Colonials have won seven of the last eight outings.

The Hawks are back from a trip to the Rockies where they went to overtime against Denver on Monday night and came away with a 77-73 loss. The setback snapped a brief two-game win streak for the squad and has them just a game over .500 as they too begin their conference schedule.

The Hawks lead the all-time series by a 33-25 margin, although George Washington won the most recent meeting last March by a score of 76-71 at the Smith Center.

The Colonials had to prepare for one of the most fierce perimeter attacks in college basketball when they met up with VMI, and clearly George Washington won that battle convincingly. The Keydets, who have never met a 3-point shot they didn't like, let fly with 36 attempts, making just eight, during the 20- point loss in the nation's capital.

Because of all the missed shots there were plenty of rebounds to go around, 94 to be exact, with three GW players registering double figures in that department. Kethan Savage tallied 18 points and 10 rebounds, Patricio Garino 16 points and 10 boards, followed by Joe McDonald with a game-high 11 rebounds, while Yuta Watanabe pitched in with 10 points in 29 minutes off the bench.

The Colonials have now had two games in which they've cleared a staggering 49 rebounds, and yet they are beating opponents on the glass by just 5.0 rpg. Kevin Larsen leads in that department with 7.3 rpg, to go along with 11.2 ppg. Ahead of him on the scoring list are Garino and Savage with 13.5 and 12.5 ppg, respectively.

The Hawks led by as many as 10 points against Denver, but lost that advantage and were eventually taken to overtime where they scored just eight points. Isaiah Miles tried to keep the visitors in contention with his 24 points, shooting 4-of-6 behind the 3-point line, followed by DeAndre Bembry with 20 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. Aaron Brown pitched in with 12 points off the bench as he sank all six of his chances at the free-throw line.

Bembry, who has scored at least 20 points on four occasions, continues to pace Saint Joseph's with his 15.4 ppg even though he is shooting just 28.3 percent beyond the arc. Considering he has been pulling down close to seven rebounds per contest, Bembry might want to consider focusing his efforts in the paint. Miles produces another 11.5 ppg and is also solid on the glass with 5.3 rpg. As a group, the Hawks have been awful shooting the ball from 3-point range (.261).

Playing in front of the hometown crowd should give the Hawks a bit of a boost, but trying to keep up with GW on the glass will be a test that will not work out too well and that could easily decide the outcome.