Williamsburg, Va. - In its final game before the Christmas holiday, the William and Mary men's basketball team will host Iona in the return game from the 2010 ESPNU BracketBusters event on Wednesday, Dec. 21. The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off in Kaplan Arena. Santa Claus will be making a special guest appearance for the kids during the game.

Fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network and the broadcast can be heard over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. The live video feed can also be purchased at the home for W&M Sports.

Storylines
- The W&M-Iona match-up is the return game from the teams' 2010 BracketBusters game, which was televised live on nationally on ESPNU. The Gaels defeated W&M, 69-53, in New Rochelle, N.Y., during that campaign.  

- The Tribe is 2-1 all-time in return BracketBusters games owning wins over MAAC teams Fairfield and Manhattan, while its only return loss came at Loyola (Chicago).

- The last time W&M and Iona played in Williamsburg, the Tribe claimed a 64-62 win over the Gaels on Feb. 14, 1974. Iona leads the all-time series at 3-1.

- Since returning from injury, sophomore forward Tim Rusthoven is averaging 10 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. In the College's game at Missouri, Rusthoven led W&M with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.

- W&M ranks third in the CAA and 74th nationally in free throw percentage. As a team, the College is shooting 71.8 percent from the charity stripe with seven players shooting better than 70 percent from the foul line.

Scouting Iona
Iona will play its seventh contest of an eight-game road trip when it faces the Tribe on Wednesday. The Gaels are 9-2 on the season following a 73-72 overtime victory over Vermont on Saturday. Earlier last week, Iona won at Richmond, 88-79. Head coach Tim Cluess is in his second season as the Gaels' head coach after leading the program to a 25-12 record last season and an appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament Championship Game.

The Gaels enter the week ranked No. 5 nationally in scoring offense at 86.2 points per game, while shooting 50.8 percent from the field, which is the sixth best in the country. Iona is 18th nationally in free throw percentage at 75.5 percent and is one of the top teams in the country as sharing the basketball, averaging 20.1 assists per game, which ranks second nationally. Defensively, the Gaels allow 77.7 points per game, while opponents shoot 47.6 percent from the floor and 39.6 percent from 3-point range.

Senior forward Mike Glover, the MAAC Preseason Player of the Year and one of 50 nationally players named to the Wooden Award Watch List, is the Gaels' leading scorer at 19.3 points per game, which ranks 35th in the country. He also tops Iona at 8.3 rebounds per game and shoots 68 percent from the field, which ranks No. 5 in the country. Senior guard Scott Machado, a First-Team All-MAAC selection last season and in the preseason, is the Gaels' playmaker, averaging 15.1 points and 10.5 assists per game. He leads the country in assists, while ranking ninth in double-doubles and 15th in assist-to-turnover ratio. Machado is also an 84.1 percent free throw shooter and connects on 41.9 percent from 3-point range. Arizona transfer junior guard Lamont Jones ranks third on the team at 14.9 points per game, while shooting 87.1 percent from the free throw line. Taaj Ridley and Kyle Smyth average 8.6 and 8.0 points per game, respectively.

Iona leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 3-1, including a 69-53 win the last time the teams met in 2010. During that campaign, the teams squared off in the ESPNU BracketBusters event in a game televised nationally on ESPNU. W&M won the first-ever meeting between the teams 64-62 in Williamsburg during the 1974 campaign.

Second-Half Team
Through the opening 11 games of the season, the Tribe has been a second-half team, averaging nearly 10 points per game more and shooting a higher percentage from both the field and free throw line in the second 20 minutes. The College is averaging 34.3 points in the second half of contests this season compared to 23.4 points in the opening half. Along with the higher scoring average, W&M is shooting better than 11 percentage points higher in the second half. The Green and Gold is shooting 43.3 percent (126-of-291) from the field in the second half compared to 32.2 percent (87-of-270) in the first half. The Tribe is also shooting 73.8 percent (90-of-122) from the free throw line in the second half compared to 68.1 percent (45-of-66) in the first half.  Along with its top averages coming in the second half of games, each of the Tribe's top six field goal percentages for a half on the year have come during the second 20 minutes. Here is are the Tribe's top six shooting halves this season: 

50 percent (13-of-26) in the 2nd half vs. Richmond (11/30/11)
48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the 2nd half vs. Wesley (12/15/11)
48.4 percent (15-of-31) in the 2nd half vs. Liberty (11/14/11)
47.6 percent (10-of-21) in the 2nd half at St. John's (11/7/11)
46.9 percent (15-of-32) in the 2nd half vs. Lehigh (11/18/11)
45.2 percent (14-of-31) in the 2nd half at Missouri (12/18/11)

Shooting Rum
After splitting time as a starter and reserve last season, junior guard Matt Rum has been the Tribe's top shooting guard and returned to the starting lineup in 2011-12. The Baltimore, Md., native appeared in the first seven games of the season off the bench, before starting three of the Tribe's last four games. Over his three starts, Rum is averaging 8.3 points and 2.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.4 percent from the field. In his first start of the season against Richmond, Rum finished with 13 points on 4-of-5 from the floor, including a 2-of-3 effort from 3-point range. He also added 10 points on 4-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-4 from 3-point range against No. 8 Missouri. Overall, Rum is averaging nearly seven points per game and ranks fourth on the team with 13 assists. He is shooting 38.9 percent (14-of-36) from 3-point range, while also connecting on high percentages from the field (46.7 percent) to go along with 71.4 percent from the free throw line.

Rusthoven's Return
After missing the opening six games of the campaign with a foot injury, sophomore forward Tim Rusthoven has been a force for the Tribe since returning to the lineup on Nov. 26 at Howard. In his season debut, the 6-9 forward scored 13 points and pulled down a team-best six rebounds against the Bison. The effort earned Rusthoven his first collegiate start against Richmond on Nov. 30, and the Winfield, Ill., native produced career-best efforts in points (15) and rebounds (8) just missing a double-double in 25 minutes of action. In the College's last game at No. 10/8 Missouri, Rusthoven led W&M with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists. Since returning to the lineup, Rusthoven is averaging 10 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in just 24 minutes per game. He has led W&M in rebounds in each of his five games.

Rookie Scorer
Freshman Marcus Thornton has proven to be an impact scorer for the Tribe in the early part of his rookie campaign. He has scored in double figures in seven of his last 10 games and is tied for the team lead at 10.2 points per game. He ranks 27th in the CAA in scoring and is third among league rookies. In the College's most recent win over Wesley, Thornton scored 14 points off the bench on 4-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Against Hampton, he scored 11 of his 13 points in the opening half and jumped started the W&M attack with seven of the Tribe's first 10 points. The rookie guard led a furious Tribe rally against Liberty on Nov. 14, scoring nine points in the final three minutes as W&M closed the game on a 15-5 run. Thornton scored 19 points and led W&M with four assists, while shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range at home vs. Liberty.