Magical Comeback Halted by Heartbreaking Heave

W&M erased a nine-point deficit with 1:17 remaining, but fell on a 40-footer at the buzzer by Georgia State.

03/02/07 3:45PM

Richmond, Va. - A historic season for the William and Mary men’s basketball game ended in heartbreak on Friday afternoon in the first round of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship. The College overcame a nine-point deficit with a 1:17 to play, but a 40-foot heave from Georgia State’s Leonard Mendez at the buzzer ended the Tribe’s come-back bid. The bucket gave the Panthers a 70-68 win in the CAA Tournament opener at the Richmond Coliseum.

The Tribe ended the season at 15-15, a six-game turnaround from a season ago. It also marked only the fifth time in W&M men’s basketball history that the Tribe won 15 or more games over Division I opponents. The 15 victories were also the second most for W&M in the last 20 years.

The Tribe eliminated a nine-point deficit with less than a 1:30 remaining in the contest. After a pair of Alex Smith free throws cut the deficit to seven, 66-59, junior guard Nathan Mann canned a pair of 3-pointers sandwiched by a GSU free throw. Mann’s second trifecta with 25.3 seconds remaining, close the gap to 67-65. Following a W&M timeout, Georgia State’s Ryan McBride missed the front end of a one-and-one. Tribe All-CAA selection Adam Payton pulled down the defensive rebound and gave the Tribe its first lead since the 14:16 mark of the first half.

Coming off a screen from Smith, Payton took the ball to the rack, scored and drew the foul. The lay-in tied the game at 67, before he converted the conventional 3-point play with 4.7 seconds remaining, give the Tribe a 68-67 lead. On the ensuing GSU possession, Mendez lost control of the basketball at mid-court, but recovered in time to seal the Tribe’s fate with a 40-footer as the horn sounded.

Four W&M players finished in double figures led by Payton. The Burlington, N.J., native capped his Tribe career with a game-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. He also had a team-high six rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Laimis Kisielius added 13 points, five rebounds, two blocks and three steals. Mann finished with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, while Smith finished with 10 points, making his fourth start of the season.

Georgia State extended its 10-point halftime lead to 12, 31-19, with a Brandon Cartwright dunk out of the locker room. W&M went on a 12-2 run to close the gap to a pair. Smith connected on a jumper, before a Payton steal led to a fast-break dunk. Mann pulled W&M within six, 31-25, on a fast-break lay-up off a steal from Kisielius. After a Devon Dickerson bucket gave GSU an eight-point lead, W&M scored six straight points. After a W&M free throw, Schneider nailed a 3-pointer on the break. Smith then scored in the post to make it 33-31 with 16:25 remaining.

Five straight GSU points pushed the lead back to seven, before W&M responded with four straight to cut it back to three. A lay-up from Payton with 14:44 remaining made it 38-35. The teams traded threes and 3-point plays capped by a Kisielius lay-up and free throw that made it 44-41.

Over the next three minutes, Georgia State extended its lead to 54-41 with a 10-point spurt. Lance Perique capped the run with a conventional 3-point play at the 10:04 mark. W&M answered with nine straight points, closing the gap to four at 54-50. Mann scored on an offensive putback, before sophomore forward Peter Stein knocked down a trey from the top of the key. Payton scored on a baseline jumper, before adding a steal and fast-break lay-up at the 7:49 mark.

Georgia State bumped its lead back to double digits with 4:18 remaining. McBride hit a trey from the left side to give the Panthers a 64-54 lead. Kisielius converted his third 3-point play of the game at the 3:48 mark to cut the deficit to seven at 64-57. A Rashad Chase lay-up with 2:49 to play set up the final minute heroics and gave the Panthers a nine-point lead.

The Tribe finished the game shooting 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, while connecting on 60 percent (18-of-30) in the second half. The Panthers countered with 11-of-19 from 3-point range, including a remarkable 7-of-9 in the second half. The Tribe held a 33-28 advantage on the boards.

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