Tribe Travels to Battle Hampton

W&M will face instate foe Hampton for the 13th straight season on Dec. 29.

12/23/07 8:00AM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s basketball team returns from the Christmas break with a trip down Interstate 64 to face the Hampton Pirates on Saturday, Dec. 29. Tip-off between to the two instate foes is slated for 7 p.m. at the Hampton University Convocation Center. It marks the 13th straight season the two teams have met on the hardwood.

The Tribe is coming off its most lopsided victory in eight years after downing Montreat, 87-52, on Dec. 22. W&M shot 53.2 percent from the field and were led in scoring by sophomore Danny Sumner and junior Chris Darnell, who scored 16 points apiece. Hampton has lost two straight heading into its tilt against W&M. Most recently, the Pirates dropped an 83-65 road contest at UMBC on Dec. 22.

The contest can be heard over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast will be aired live over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.

For complete W&M men's basketball notes, click HERE

Story lines
- W&M has won each of the last three contests with Hampton, including a 72-67 win in Williamsburg last season.

- The contest with the Pirates will be head coach Tony Shaver’s first chance at victory No. 400. He tallied his 399th collegiate coaching victory against Montreat on Dec. 22.

The Tribe will look to continue its streak of outrebounding opponents. The College has outrebounded its counterpart in each of the last six contests.

Scouting Hampton
Despite an RPI that has consistently been in the top 100 nationally throughout the season, Hampton enters the contest with the Tribe having dropped each of its last two contests and three of its last four. The Pirates fell at ACC foe Virginia, 79-65, on Dec. 19, before dropping an 83-65 affair to UMBC on Dec. 22. Hampton is 5-6 on the season, including a 2-1 mark at home. The Pirates, who are in their second season under head coach Kevin Nickelberry, were selected as the preseason favorite to win the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).

The Pirates are 2-1 against the CAA this season, owning victories over Delaware (51-50) and VCU (64-55). Hampton fell at George Mason, 57-54 on Dec. 5.

The Pirates leading scorer Rashad West is the reigning MEAC Player of the Week following his first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds against St. Bonaventure on Dec. 15. He is averaging 17.6 points per game, while also topping the squad in assists with 30. He has started every game this season at the guard position for Hampton and led it in scoring in the loss to UMBC with 20. Hampton led the Retrievers, 34-32, at halftime, but UMBC shot 51.6 percent from the field in the second half on its way to the 18-point victory.

Vincent Simpson, despite coming off the bench in all 11 games, is the Pirates only other double-digit scorer at 11 points per game. Theo Smalling and Adrian Woodard are HU’s top two rebounders at 5.7 and 5.2 per contest. Simpson also leads the squad in steals with 19.

Hampton has struggled shooting the basketball, only hitting on 39.5 percent from the field and 27.4 percent from 3-point range. Despite the struggles offensively, the Pirates are forcing opponents to turn the ball over 18.5 times per game, while tallying 9.4 steals per contest.

Hampton Series History
The Tribe owns an 8-4 advantage in the series with Hampton that dates back to the 1995-96 season. Included in the College’s success has been a 4-1 mark in Hampton, Va. W&M has won the last three in the series, including each of the last two at Hampton. Last season, the Tribe shot 51.2 percent from the floor and 45 percent from 3-point range on its way to a 72-67 win over the Pirates. Laimis Kisielius led the way for the College with 18 points, while Nathan Mann added 12 points in the victory.

Putting Points on the Board
The Tribe scored early and often in its 87-52 victory over Montreat on Dec. 22. While W&M entered the contest averaging 8.5 3-point field goals per contest, the Tribe used a different form of attack against the Cavaliers. The Green and Gold pushed the ball down low, outscoring its counterparts, 48-4, in the paint.

W&M’s 35-point victory was not only the largest margin under head coach Tony Shaver, but the most for the College in eight seasons. The last time the Tribe defeated an opponent by a larger margin, W&M downed Washington College, 92-39, to open the 1999-00 campaign. The 87 points that W&M put on the board was also the highest total for the program since scoring 90 against Georgia State during the 2005-06 season.

50 Percent Equals Victories
The Tribe has been flawless under head coach Tony Shaver when it hits on 50 percent or better from the floor. The Tribe tallied five contests of 50-percent or better from the field in 2006-07 and in its most recent victory over Montreat, pulled the trick for the first time in 2007-08. Here is a look at the Tribe’s 50-percent or better shooting from the field under Shaver:

Date - Team Result - Percentage (FGM-FGA)
12/22/07 - Montreat - W, 87-52 -.532 (33-62)
2/7/07 - James Madison - W, 71-56 - .540 (27-50)
1/27/07 - Georgia State - W, 81-65 - .609 (28-46)
12/28/06 - Hampton - W, 72-67 - .512 (21-41)
12/22/06 - UMBC - W, 70-58 - .500 (21-42)
11/20/06 - Wagner - W, 77-53 - .500 (32-64)
2/4/06 - Georgia State - W, 90-73 - .633 (31-49)
1/28/06 - James Madison - W, 86-68 - .518 (29-56)
12/21/05 - UNC Greensboro - W, 83-73 - .536 (30-56)
11/26/05 - Campbell - W, 93-79 - .589 (33-56)
1/26/05 - Towson - W, 83-65 - .521 (25-48)
12/1/04 - Longwood - W, 90-60 - .500 (30-60)
1/28/04 - at James Madison - W, 99-86 - .600 (33-55)
1/26/04 - Old Dominion - W, 86-77 - .545 (30-55)
12/30/03 - Campbell - W, 82-67 - .500 (29-58)
11/23/03 - Liberty - W, 91-64 - .540 (34-63)

Chasing 400
W&M head coach Tony Shaver took another step closer to the 400-win mark with the Tribe’s victory over Montreat on Dec. 22. The victory was the 399th of Shaver’s collegiate coaching career, leaving him just one win shy of joining the 400-win club. Shaver is in his 22nd season patrolling the sidelines in college basketball. Prior to his stint at W&M, he spent 17 seasons as the head man at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia.

Shooting High Percentages
In each of the Tribe’s last two games, the College has shot its highest percentage of the season. Despite falling at home to VMI on Dec. 20, the Tribe managed to connect on a then-season best 49 percent (25-of-51) from the floor, only to better the mark two days later against Montreat. The Tribe shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the floor in the win over the Cavaliers.

The Tribe attempted over 60 field goals for the first time in 2007-08 in the Montreat win. The last time W&M attempted more than 60 shots from the floor, it did so in a victory over Wagner when it took 64 on Nov. 20, 2006. Also against Montreat, the College hit on 33 field goals. It marked the most field goals made by a W&M since it made 37 against George Mason on Feb. 12, 2005.

Walk-On Presence
Both seniors Marcus Barnett and Chris Stratton joined the W&M program as walk-ons and remain so in their final years with the Green and Gold. Despite the sigma that usually surrounds the term walk-on, it hasn’t detoured the Virginia natives from making an impact on the Tribe’s 2007-08 season.

Stratton has been one of the Tribe’s top reserves over the last six games, averaging five points and three rebounds. He turned in career performance already this season with 10 points against Houston Baptist and seven rebounds at Richmond. The Burke, Va., native earned his second career start in the College’s victory over Montreat.

Barnett, in only his second season with the Tribe, has appeared in seven games and is the College’s back-up point guard. He played solid minutes in the CAA opener against VCU and in W&M’s road win at North Florida. The Hampton, Va., native made his first college start against Montreat and finished with five points, three rebounds and two steals.

Bench Scoring
A signature of W&M teams under head coach Tony Shaver over the last few seasons has been the College’s ability to finding a scoring punch off the bench and 2007-08 is no different. The Tribe is averaging 22.7 points per game off the bench this season and outscoring its opponents by 11 points per contest. Sophomore Danny Sumner has led the way, pacing W&M reserves in scoring on four occasions. In six of the Tribe’s nine games this season, the College has outscored its opponent off the bench. W&M has also produced six double-digit scoring performances off the bench in 2007-08.

In its victory over Montreat, the Tribe scored 54 points off the bench. It was the second time in the last two seasons that the College has tallied 50 or more points off the bench. Last season, the Tribe pulled the trick against Cornell on its way to a 73-68 overtime victory. The 54 points against Montreat were the most for a W&M bench under Shaver.

Here is a look at the Tribe’s top reserve scoring this season:
11/10 - at Georgetown - Alex Smith (5)
11/15 - at N.C. State - Danny Sumner (3)
11/20 - at Wagner - Danny Sumner (18)
11/25 - Houston Baptist - Chris Stratton (10)
11/28 - at Richmond - Alex Smith (10)
12/5 - at VCU - Danny Sumner (13)
12/7 - at North Florida - Danny Sumner (12)
12/20 - VMI - Kyle Carrabine (9)
12/22 - Montreat - Chris Darnell (16)

Career Assist Milestones
Senior Nathan Mann and sophomore David Schneider both closed in on career assist milestones in the Tribe’s victory over Montreat. Mann tallied his 200th career assist for the College, pushing himself into the program’s top-20 in that career category, while Schneider tallied his 100th career helper in just his second season. Mann’s 202 career assists rank 18th on the W&M career list and is only 23 helpers shy of moving into the top-14 in school history.

On the Boards
After being outrebounded in each of its first three games this season, the College has turned the tables and held the rebounding advantage in each of its last six contests and hold a 3.1 advantage on the glass this season. Over the six-game stretch, the Tribe has outrebounded its opponents by more than nine boards per game. W&M has averaged 38.7 rebounds per game, compared to just 29.5 for its opponents.

The rebounding for W&M has been a collective effort for most of the season. Over the nine games in 2007, seven different Tribe players have led the College in rebounding. Sophomores David Schneider and Danny Sumner along with junior Peter Stein and senior Nathan Mann have led the way, topping the Green and Gold on the boards in two games each. Six different W&M players are averaging over three rebounds a game this year, while over the last six games, eight different Tribe players have averaged at least three boards per contest. Schneider and junior forward Chris Darnell lead W&M in rebounding at 5.0 and 4.9 per contest, respectively. Schneider’s total is 18th in the CAA, while Darnell’s is tied for 20th.

Against Montreat, the Tribe double its opponent on the boards, pulling down a season-high 48 rebounds compared to just 24 for the Cavaliers. The 48 rebounds marked the most for a W&M team since the College pulled down 51 boards in an 89-55 win over Maine on Nov. 18, 2005. It also marked the ninth time under head coach Tony Shaver that W&M has pulled down 45 or more rebounds. The Tribe is 8-1 in those contests.