News and Notes
- The Tribe-Pride match-up will be televised on Comcast
SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and Philadelphia as well as Comcast Sports Southeast and
the Madison Square Garden Network (MSG) with John Castleberry and Charlie
Woollum on the call. It marks W&M's eighth televised game of the season.
- Hofstra leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 14-6,
including a 70-59 victory earlier this season. In 2011-12, W&M downed
Hofstra, 75-71, in the only meeting between the teams in Williamsburg.
- Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton produced his eighth
20-point game of the season, the most for a W&M player since 2004, with a
game-high 22 at Delaware on Jan. 30. He ranks third in the league in 20-point
games.
- As of Feb. 1, the Tribe ranks second in the CAA in field
goal percentage (.445), assists (13.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1),
while ranking third in scoring (68.2). The College leads the league and ranks
13th nationally in defensive 3-point percentage (.284).
Scouting Hofstra
Hofstra enters the contest with the Tribe having dropped
five straight and 14 of its last 16. The Pride is 5-16 on the year and 2-6 in
CAA play. The last Hofstra victory came against W&M, 70-59, on Jan. 12 in
Hempstead. Most recently, the Pride fell at James Madison, 62-41, on Thursday
night.
In the earlier meeting between the teams, Hofstra jumped
tout to a 16-2 lead in route to a 10-point halftime advantage. The Pride shot
55 percent from the field and was 17-of-24 from the free throw line in the
second half to hold off the W&M rally efforts that cut the deficit to four
on a number of occasions.
The Pride is the lowest scoring team in the CAA at 59.4
points per game, while also ranking last in the league in field goal percentage
at 38.7 percent. On the year, Hofstra allows 68.4 points per game, while its
opponents shoot 43.8 percent from the field. The Pride are third in the CAA in
defensive 3-point percentage, only allowing teams to shoot 31.4 percent from
long range. Hofstra ranks fifth in the CAA in rebounding at nearly 35 per game,
while coming in third in offensive rebounds per contest at 12.5.
Sophomore guard Taran Buie is the Pride's top scorer,
averaging 14.7 points per game, which ranks 10th in the CAA. He is among the
top 3-point shooters in the CAA, as well, at two made triples per game and 35.2
percent shooting from long distance, which rank fifth and sixth in the league,
respectively. Senior guard Stevie Mejia is the catalyst of the Pride offense
ranking third in the CAA in assists per game at 4.1, while coming in 21st in
scoring at 10.4 per game. Mejia leads the CAA in steals per game at 1.9. Senior
David Imes chips in 6.8 points per game and ranks eighth in the CAA at 1.2
blocked shots per game, while junior forward Stephen Nwaukoni adds 6.4 points
and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game, which ranks seventh in the league.
Hofstra leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 14-6.
Last season, W&M downed Hofstra, 75-71, in Williamsburg as
Brandon Britt
knocked down the clinching 3-pointer with less than 20 seconds remaining.
Thornton Scoring in
Bunches
In each of the Tribe's first 20 games of the 2012-13 season,
sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton has scored in double digits, including eight
20-plus point performances. Overall, Thornton has scored in double digits in
each of the Tribe's last 22 games dating back to last season. He currently
leads the team and ranks third in the CAA in scoring at 18.2 points per game, a
number that also ranks 43rd nationally (as of Feb. 1). Thornton's scoring
average is the 17th-best single-season mark in W&M history and the best
since Adam Hess averaged 20.3 points per game in 2004. His eight 20-point games
this season rank fourth in the CAA. Thornton also ranks among the top 15 in the
league in six other statistical categories. He leads the league in 3-pointers
made per game (2.8), ranks second in minutes played (36.5), third in 3-point
field goal percentage (40.3 percent), ninth in free throw percentage (79.8
percent), 10th in assists per game (2.9) and 14th in field goal percentage
(42.4 percent).
Double-Doubling
In three of the Tribe's last five games, junior forward Tim
Rusthoven has produced double-double performances, bringing his season total to
four and his career mark to seven. He currently ranks sixth in the CAA and
129th nationally in double-doubles on the year with four, all coming in league
play. Rusthoven is nearly averaging a double-double over the last five games,
scoring 18.2 points per contest with 8.2 rebounds per game. The four
double-doubles in a season are the most for a W&M player since 2004-05. His
first double-double of the season came against George Mason on Jan. 5 when he
led W&M with 19 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. He had 20 points and 10
rebounds at Georgia State on Jan. 16, before scoring a career-high 25 points
with a season-high 11 rebounds at Northeastern on Jan. 23. Recently, he posted 14 points and 10 rebounds
against Towson in the College's 63-56 win on Jan. 26.
Thornton Shooting the
3
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton is shooting the ball
exceptionally well from 3-point range. He currently leads the CAA at 2.8
3-pointers per game, a number that also ranks 29th nationally as of Jan. 31. On
four occasions this season, he has knocked down five or more 3-pointers in a
game. His 2.8 threes per game rank second on the W&M single-season list
behind only the three 3-pointers that David Schneider averaged per game in
2010. Thornton has been even better in CAA contests, hitting 3.6 3-pointers per
game. His 40.3 percent from 3-point range on the year ranks third in the CAA
and 42nd nationally, as of Jan. 31. Thornton is already moving his way up the
W&M career lists ranking seventh in 3-point percentage (373), eighth in
3-pointers per game (1.79) and 19th in total threes made (93).
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 46.1 of the W&M's 67.6 points per game (68.2 percent). On the
year, all three rank among the top 15 in the CAA with Thornton leading the way
in third at 18.2 points per game. Rusthoven and Britt rank ninth and 15th,
respectively, averaging 14.9 and 13.1 points per game. On 15 occasions one of
the trio has scored 20-plus points in a game. Thornton scored 20-plus points on
eight occasions this season, including a season-high 24 against both Hampton
and Towson. Rusthoven has four 20-plus point games, including a career-high 25
at Northeastern, while Britt topped the 20-point mark on three occasions,
including a career-high 26 against Howard.
Rum Approaching 200
Assists
Senior guard
Matt Rum is closing in on joining an exclusive
group of Tribe players to dish out 200 or more assists in their careers. The
Baltimore, Md., native currently ranks 23rd in school history with 196 career
assists and its just four away from becoming the 22nd player in program annals
to reach the 200 mark. This season, Rum led W&M in assists a team-high nine
games and currently ranks 12th in the CAA with 2.6 assists per game. He also
ranks among the Tribe's best with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.32,
which is No. 10 in W&M history.
