WASHINGTON -- Ricky Lucus and Omar Williams delivered the strong second-half performances George Washington needed to win its seventh consecutive game.
Lucas scored 13 of his season-high 14 points in the second half, and Omar Williams added 10 of his 12 points in the first 10 minutes of the second half to help No. 19 George Washington to an 85-69 victory over Towson on Saturday.
Pops Mensah-Bonsu led the Colonials (7-1) with 15 points on 5-for-14 shooting, and added 13 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Lawrence Hamm led Towson (3-7) with 18 points. Jonathan Pease added 16 points.
George Washington charged to a 29-8 lead, but struggled the rest of the half, shooting just 15-for-40 and allowing Towson back into contention.
"I thought we just missed too many lay-ups," Colonials coach Karl Hobbs said. "I think we missed four dunks. We have a rule, if you can't dunk, lay it in, but overall we still put up 85 points and I'm happy with that.
"I thought some of those easy layups we missed was a reflection of what we've been doing in practice."
The Tigers countered with a 23-8 run late in the first half and closed within 40-31 by the break.
"We didn't handle the pressure well. It was a 21-point game at the 7:49 mark and we ended up losing by 16," Towson coach Pat Kennedy said. "For a good 33 minutes, our guys went up and went toe-to-toe with them."
The Colonials finished with 12 steals and a season-best seven blocked shots, while scoring 27 points off turnovers.
George Washington's only loss came in its season opener against Wake Forest.
"I think we are good, but I don't think we are as good as our rating is," Hobbs said. "Good teams are able to concentrate and focus when they go on the road. That is what we're after. That's the challenge for this basketball team.
"If we can do that, we've got an opportunity to have a special year."
