News and Notes
- Despite Drexel leading the all-time series with the Tribe
at 18-9, W&M owns victories in six of the last 10 meetings. The Dragons won
both contests last season, including a 63-61 win in Philadelphia. Saturday's
game will mark the only regular season meeting between the teams this season.
- As of Jan. 18, the Tribe leads the CAA in field goal
percentage (.452), defensive 3-point percentage (.268) and assists (14.0),
while ranking second in scoring (68.3), 3-pointers made (6.3) and
assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0).
- According to the NCAA stats (as of Jan. 17), W&M ranks
fourth nationally in defensive 3-point percentage, 93rd in field goal
percentage, 94th in free throw percentage and 107th in assists per game.
- The Tribe ranks 56th nationally, according to KenPom.com,
in assist percentage, dishing out assists on 59.1 percent of its made field
goals.
- Junior guard
Julian Boatner knocked down a pair of
3-pointers at Georgia State to give him 99 for his career. With his next made
3-point field goal, he will become the 16th player in W&M history with 100
career 3-pointers.
Scouting Drexel
The Dragons enter the game with the Tribe off a week break
at 5-11 overall and 1-3 in CAA play. Drexel has struggled with injuries all
season, including the loss of second-leading scorer Chris Fouch for the year.
The Dragons opened the CAA slate with a 77-60 win at Georgia State, but have
dropped three straight, including home losses to Towson and Northeastern.
Drexel, which was the CAA preseason favorite, suffered a 51-43 setback in its
most recent contest at James Madison on Jan. 12.
Offensively, the Dragons average 62.9 points per game, while
shooting 42.4 percent from the floor. Drexel leads the CAA in 3-point
percentage (35.1) and ranks third in the league in free throw percentage
(72.5). The Dragons rank second in the CAA in scoring defense, holding
opponents to 65.2 points per game, but they have been limiting foes to just
60.8 points per game in league play. Drexel ranks third in the CAA,
outrebounding foes by four per contest.
Sophomore Damion Lee leads Drexel in scoring at 18.1 points
per game, which ranks second in the CAA, but has missed four contests this
season, including each of the last two for the Dragons. He is shooting 36.4
percent from 3-point range and 83.9 percent from the free throw line to go
along with 5.2 rebounds per game. His free throw percentage ranks second in the
CAA, while his 3-point percentage is fifth. Preseason CAA Player of the Year
Frantz Massenat is averaging 14.1 points per game, while adding 4.3 assists per
game, which is second in the CAA. Daryl McCoy, who also missed the Dragon's
game at JMU, is the team's leading rebounder and ranks fourth in the league at
8.8 per contest. Redshirt freshman Tavon Allen averages 8.6 points per game and
shoots 39.5 percent from 3-point range.
Drexel leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 18-9,
including victories in each of the last three meetings. Last season, the
Dragons downed W&M, 64-48, in Williamsburg, before escaping with a narrow, 63-61,
in Philadelphia.
Rusthoven
Double-Double
Junior forward
Tim Rusthoven posted his first career
20-point, 10-rebound double-double in the Tribe's contest at Georgia State on
Jan. 16. It marked his second double-double of the season and the fifth of his
Green and Gold career. Against the Panthers, Rusthoven finished with 20 points
on 7-of-14 from the floor and 6-of-7 from the free throw line to go along with
10 rebounds, six offensive and four defensive. It marked the first 20-10
double-double players since
Quinn McDowell had 28 points and 12 rebounds for
W&M at Hofstra on Feb. 15, 2011. Rusthoven tallied his first double-double
of the season against George Mason on Jan. 5, finishing with 19 points on
8-of-12 shooting from the floor to go with a season-high 11 rebounds. He
currently ranks seventh in the CAA with a pair of double-doubles this season.
Thornton at the Free
Throw Line
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton has been the Tribe's top
free throw shooter this season. On the year, he is connecting on 80.9 percent
(55-of-68) from the charity strip, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 139th
nationally, as of Jan. 17. He is 26 of his last 29 from the free throw line,
which is 89.7 percent, over the last five games. Thornton is the Tribe's best
clutch free throw shooter as well. In the final five minutes and overtime of
games this season, he is shooting 92.6 percent (25-of-27) from the free throw
line.
McDowell Signs Pro
Deal in Australia
Former Tribe standout
Quinn McDowell recently inked a deal
with the Willetton Tigers of the States Basketball League in Perth, Australia
for the 2013 season. McDowell and his wife, the former Lindsey Moller, a 2011
graduate of the College and former women's basketball player, departed for
Australia earlier this week. McDowell, who was a 2012 Senior Class Award
All-American and the CAA's first two-time winner of the Dean Ehlers Leadership
Award, spent the fall competing for Athletes in Action, taking part in
exhibitions against college teams as well as a trip to Puerto Rico. A two-time
All-CAA honoree, McDowell is one of just four players in W&M history with
1,500 career points and 500 career rebounds, while finishing as the school's
all-time leader in games and minutes played. He becomes the ninth W&M
player under head coach
Tony Shaver to sign a professional contract.
Thornton Shooting the
3
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton is shooting the ball
exceptionally well from 3-point range. He currently leads the CAA at 2.6
3-pointers per game, a number that also ranks second in W&M history behind
only the three 3-pointers that Schneider averaged per game in 2010. He has been
even better in CAA contests, hitting 3.4 3-pointers per game. His 36.9 percent
from 3-point range ranks fourth in the CAA. Thornton ranks 60th nationally in
3-pointers made per game and 66th in 3-point field goal percentage, as of Jan.
17.
Three-Headed Scoring
Monster
The Tribe's top three returning scorers, sophomore Marcus
Thornton and juniors
Brandon Britt and
Tim Rusthoven, have upped their
production in the early going of the 2012-13 campaign. The trio is averaging a
combined 45.9 of the W&M's 68.3 points per game (67.1 percent). On the
year, all three rank among the top 15 in the CAA with Thornton leading the way
in third at 18 points per game. Rusthoven and Britt rank 11th and 14th,
respectively, averaging 14.1 and 13.8 points per game. On 12 occasions one of
the trio has scored 20-plus points in a game. Thornton scored 20-plus points on
six occasions this season, including a season-high 24 against both Hampton and
Towson. Britt and Rusthoven have each scored 20-plus points on three occasions.
Britt had a career-high 26 against Howard, while Rusthoven tallied a
career-high 23 at High Point.
