Tribe Defense Leads to Fifth Straight Win

Senior Laimis Kisielius led the Tribe with 17 points and nine rebounds in the 61-51 win over Towson.

01/19/08 6:30PM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s basketball has made a reputation of being able to overcome large deficits, but the Tribe led entire game on the way its fifth straight CAA victory, defeating Towson 61-51, on Saturday afternoon. Four W&M players scored in double figures, and the Green and Gold’s defense limited the Tigers to just 32.7 percent shooting from the floor. The Tribe improved to 9-8 overall and 5-2 in CAA action, while Towson fell to 6-11 on the season and 2-5 in league play.

Senior forward Laimis Kisielius led all scorers with 17 points to go along with a team and season-high nine rebounds. Junior Peter Stein was 6-of-10 from the floor and finished with 15 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Nathan Mann and sophomore Danny Sumner rounded out the Tribe’s double-digit scorers with 10 apiece.

Unlike the last three games in which the Tribe got off to slow starts and trailed at the half, the College came storming out of the gates against the Tigers. W&M scored the opening 12 points of the game and knocked down its first five shots from the floor. Sumner scored the opening five points for W&M on a driving lay-up and a 3-pointer from the left wing.

On the Tribe’s next possession, Stein connected on a trey from the top of the key, forcing a Towson timeout less than two minutes into the game. The Tribe run continued out of the timeout as Kisielius connected on a pair of free throws and Stein scored on a lay-up off the dish from Mann. The bucket gave the Tribe a 12-0 cushion with 17:28 remaining in the opening half.

Towson finally got on the board with a Junior Hariston 3-pointer from the right corner at the 17:09 mark. The Tigers cut the deficit to the deficit to 17-10 with four quick points on buckets from Tony Durant and Hariston, before the College came blazing back. The Green and Gold dialed up long distance as Mann and freshman guard John Sexton connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to push the College’s cushion to 23-10 midway through the opening half.

Sumner’s emphatic fast break dunk with 6:58 remaining put the W&M lead at 27-15 and forced another Towson timeout. The Tigers showed a renewed vigor out the break, using a 9-1 run to close the deficit to 28-24 following a C.C. Williams free throw with 1:32 left in the first half. Towson also took the momentum to the locker room as Georgetown transfer Josh Thornton drilled a 3-pointer from the left side with just three seconds remaining in the opening half. The trifecta sent the Tribe to the intermission with only a three-point advantage, 30-27.

Like it had in the opening half of play, the College started the second half on the run, scoring the opening eight points of the half to push the lead back above double digits. Stein and Kisielius scored four points apiece on the spurt, giving W&M a 38-27 lead five minutes into the second half. The Tribe defense was just as impressive over the stretch, forcing Towson to misfire on it opening nine shots of the second stanza.

The Tigers used the long ball to close the gap hitting three straight 3-pointers, including a pair of Tim Crossin to draw within two points at 38-26 with 11:48 remaining. Following a timeout, the Green and Gold answered with a run of its own, scoring 10-straight points. The biggest play of the run came at the start as senior Chris Stratton hit his first career 3-point field goal from the top of the key. After Sumner made two free throws and Stein connected on a free-throw line jumper, Mann pushed the lead back to double digits, 48-36, with a trey of his own at the 9:11 mark.

Towson fought back with a flurry of 3-pointers and Thornton’s three with 5:48 remaining cut the Tribe advantage to 53-50. W&M reversed the momentum once again, but this time on the defensive end as the Tigers did not hit a field goal for the remainder of the contest. TU was 0-of-6 from the floor with two turnovers over the final 5:45 of the game.

After a Stein lay-up gave W&M a five-point cushion, Towson’s Robert Nwankwo went 1-of-2 from the free throw line at the 2:35 mark to cut the lead to four, 55-51. On the ensuing possession, it was Mann who stepped up and hit one of the biggest shots of the game to end the Tigers’ hopes. The Overland Park, Kan., native hit a turnaround, off balanced jumper with the shot clock running down that gave W&M a 57-51 lead with 42 seconds left. The College added four free throws down the stretch for the final margin.

The Tribe only shot 38 percent (19-of-50) from the field, but did connected on eight 3-point field goals and shot 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the free throw line. W&M also did a good job of taking care of the basketball and only turned it over a season-low eight times. The Tigers kept things close with W&M on the strength of its 3-point shooting as Towson knocked down 11 3-point field goals. All seven of TU’s second-half baskets came from beyond the 3-point arc.

W&M returns to action when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., to battle Drexel on Wednesday, Jan. 23. The game is slated for a 7:30 p.m. at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. The contest can be heard over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Bill McDonald on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats will be available through a link on the W&M schedule page for by visiting DrexelDragons.com.

Box Score