It was supposed to be Chris Monroe night at the Mullins Center. The senior guard from George Washington began the game just 23 points away from the school’s all time record.

But in between the layup that got him on the board, and the two second half free throws that broke Joe Holup’s scoring mark, Monroe was almost dead silent.

He was overshadowed by the performance of three underclassmen that led the Colonials to a road victory in the first round of the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Monroe should be recognized as the hero. Because he didn’t just score 23 points, he did it less than 24 hours after offering his lunch to a hotel toilet.

He did it after skipping the morning film session and the afternoon shoot around. But once game time rolled around, Monroe found himself out of the spotlight.

Instead it was sophomore T.J. Thompson’s NBA range threes that garnered some of the attention, along with Tamal Forchion’s explosive ramrods to the basket.

The fans in the Mullins Center’s student section took special interest in the exploits of freshman Mike Hall. He was booed every time he stepped to the free throw line and heckled when he scored each one of his 19 points.

Hall did little to quell the jeering with 40 minutes of trash talk and a two-handed salute after his game clinching free throws in the second half. But his arrogance seemed to fit the game plan.

“They just pushed it down our throat,” UMass guard Anthony Anderson said. “They beat us down the court every time.”

With 20 points, Anderson had another solid game, but it might have been even better if Thompson hadn’t run him all over the court on the offensive end.

The shifty, diminutive sophomore used a mix of jumpers, drives and deep threes to keep Anderson busy and drop 16 points.

“I thought T.J. played a major role,” GW coach Karl Hobbs said. “But Mike Hall really did a great job. We wanted to put a tall defender on [Anderson].”

The 6-foot-8 Hall had no business guarding Anderson and his formidable first step. But Hall was arrogant enough to show no fear and he, along with Thompson and 6-foot-9 Omar Williams, rotated to keep Anderson off-balance.

This was while Forchion was doing the dirty work inside. The 240-pound sophomore finished with 14 points, three boards, a block, three steals and two offensive fouls that will leave a mark.

Together, the young trio combined for 49 of the Colonials 85 points on the evening. And Hall was the only one of the three that didn’t have more points in the second half.

“Our young guys are really starting to come around,” Hobbs said. “At the end we really showed some maturity.”

Meanwhile, Monroe went about his business with 10 points in the first and 13 in the second. He was heckled a bit during the pre game introductions, but once tip-off came around he was almost forgotten.

Then he broke a 50-year old record, with a pill in his stomach. After the game he said he just needed to get some sleep. He’ll leave the spotlight for the young guys.