Tribe Falls to Delaware

Junior Peter Stein had a career night with 23 points and eight rebounds in the loss to the Blue Hens.

01/02/08 11:00PM

Williamsburg - Playing its third game in five days, the William and Mary men’s basketball team could not overcome its cold shooting night, falling to Delaware, 58-51, at Kaplan Arena on Wednesday night. Junior Peter Stein scored a career-high 23 points, but it was not enough as the College dropped its first game of 2008. W&M fell to 4-8 on the season and 0-2 in the CAA, while Delaware upped its ledger to 5-7 overall and 2-0 in league action.

Stein was the Tribe’s force in every facet of the game, nearly willing the College to a victory. The Houston, Texas native was 8-of-9 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line, while also equaling his career high with eight rebounds. He also helped to limit Delaware’s leading scorer Herb Courtney to seven points after he entered the game averaging 13.8. Senior guard Nathan Mann was the only other Tribe player in double figures with 12 points and sophomore Danny Sumner set a career-high pulling down seven rebounds.

The Green and Gold came roaring out of the gates, hitting its first three shots of the game and opened up a 10-2 advantage five minutes into the contest. Stein scored seven of the College’s opening 10 points of the contest, while Mann added a 3-pointer from the right wing.

Delaware closed the gap to two points, 17-15, with 6:59 to play in the opening half, following a steal and fastbreak lay-up from Courtney. W&M pushed its lead back to seven with five quick points. After Stein connected on a pair of free throws, W&M went inside out as Stein found senior Laimis Kisielius for a trey from the top of the key. The trifecta bumped the W&M cushion to 22-15 with 6:01 remaining.

Kisielius’ trey would be the final W&M field goal of the opening half as the Blue Hens grabbed the momentum with a 9-1 run. UD rookie Alphonso Dawson scored the final six points of the run following a D.J. Boney 3-pointer to send Delaware to the locker room with a 24-23 advantage.

W&M’s frigid shooting continue in the early portion of the second half as the College missed it opening eight shots of the second half. But following a Stein lay-up at the 16:44 mark, the Tribe only trailed 29-25. After the two teams traded buckets, the Blue Hens used a seven-point spurt to push its lead over double-digits at 38-27 with 13:32 remaining.

The Tribe would not go quietly, scoring the games next six points to close the gap back to five at 38-33. Sumner scored on a pair of free throws, before Mann and Stein both converted jumpers. Delaware pushed its lead back to nine, 46-37, with five minutes remaining as transfer Marc Egerson drove the lane for two of his team-high 15 points.

Like it had most of the night, W&M fought its way back into the contest. The College close to within four points on three occasions, before Mann’s second 3-pointer of the game from the right corner cut the gap to three points, 52-49, with 1:18 remaining. Following a 30 second timeout, the Tribe forced a five-second call on Delaware to regain possession.

Despite the effort, the College could not close the gap any more as Mann’s jumper from the right side with 53 seconds caromed off the rim and Delaware got the rebound. The Blue Hens went 6-of-8 from the free throw line over the final 50 seconds to secure the victory.

The Tribe will return to action when it hits the road to face Old Dominion on Saturday, Jan. 5, at the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. and the contest will be televised on Comcast SportsNet PLUS. In the Williamsburg and Hampton Roads region the game will be carried on Cox Communications channel 11. Check the PDF below for a list of stations for the Comcast SportsNet PLUS channel in the Maryland /Virginia region.

The Tribe-Monarch contest can also be heard on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. It will also be broadcast live over the Web at TribeAthletics.com. GameTracker will be available for the contest as well by visiting ODUSports.com or TribeAthletics.com.

Box Score
Comcast PLUS Channel List