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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio— George Washington staved off a ferocious Detroit rally for an 86-73 victory at the Stroh Center in the opening game of the Progressive CBE Classic Monday.  GW led by as many as 26, but had to sweat out the final minutes through intense defensive pressure.

The Colonials (2-1) shot 53 percent from the field in the opening half, including 5-for-9 from three-point range to take a 45-28 lead at the break.  GW made its first three shots of the second half and grabbed a commanding 52-28 advantage just 1:40 into the second stanza. That GW lead grew to 71-45 before the Titans began the long road back.

Down 26, the Titans easily could have thrown in the towel and conserved energy during a brutal stretch that sees them play four games in six nights.  They didn't.  Enacting a menacing full-court pressure defense, UDM whittled the advantage down to 13 with just under seven minutes left.  It was 13 straight Detroit points during the run that got the score manageable.

After GW finally broke a long scoring drought, Detroit continued to put the hammer down defensively, leading to transition buckets.  Ray McCallum picked Tony Taylor's pocket at halfcourt and Jason Calliste finished on the other end, chopping the deficit to just 11.  Chase Simon then converted on a pair of free throws and it was 77-68 with 3:30 to play. 

Yet another GW turnover due to pressure, its 16^th of the game, gave the Titans the ball back and McCallum converted a conventional three-point play to put the deficit at six.  Just when it looked like Detroit had another defensive stop, Nemanja Mikic hit just as the shot clock was expiring to put the lead back to eight and the Colonials eventually went on to the 86-73 win.
 
Taylor was 4-for-4 from three and 7-of-8 overall for a game-high 22 points to pace the Colonials (2-1).  Nick Minnerath led the Titan attack with 18 points while LaMarcus Lowe scored nine, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked five shots. Simon added 14 points while McCallum and Doug Anderson each chipped-in 11.

Detroit (2-2) continues play in the Progressive CBE Classic Tuesday, taking on host Bowling Green at 7:30 p.m.  The tourney concludes Wednesday as the Titans meet Austin Peay at 5:00 p.m.