W&M Looks to Extend Streak at Drexel

The Tribe travels to face the Dragons in Philadelphia on Wednesday, Jan. 23, at 7:30 p.m.

01/22/08 12:00PM

Williamsburg - Winners of five straight, the William and Mary men’s basketball team will look to continue its winning ways on the road when it travels to Drexel on Wednesday, Jan. 23. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Philadelphia, Pa. W&M has won three of its last four games on the road, including each of the last two during its current five-game winning streak.

The Tribe led wire-to-wire in its 61-51 victory over Towson on Jan. 19. W&M turned in a stout defensive effort limiting the Tigers to 32.7 percent from the field. Senior Laimis Kisielius led the charge for W&M with 17 points and a career-high nine rebounds, while junior Peter Stein scored 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the field. Drexel has lost four of its last five games, including a 67-58 game versus Hofstra at home on Jan. 19.

The game with the Dragons can be heard on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Bill McDonald on the call. Fan can also listen to the broadcast over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats will be available as well by visiting the schedule page at the home for W&M athletics or by going to DrexelDragons.com.

Story lines
- W&M will look for only the third conference winning streak of six or more games in school history.

- The Tribe will look for its first-ever victory in the City of Brotherly Love. W&M has not won game in the state of Pennsylvania since Feb. 26, 1986 when it defeated Lafayette.

- W&M has won seven CAA road games over the last two seasons.

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

Scouting Drexel
Drexel enters the contest with the Tribe at 9-10 overall and 2-5 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Dragons have struggled as of late, dropping four of its last five games, including a 67-58 contest to Hofstra in Philadelphia on Jan. 19. Drexel had lost three straight league games prior to a 58-51 victory over Georgia State on Jan. 16. Five of Drexel’s nine wins this season have come at home, where they are 5-5 on the year. Bruiser Flint is in his seventh season at the helm of the Drexel program.

Against Hofstra, senior forward Frank Elegar turned in a double-double performance with 23 points and 13 rebounds, but it was not enough. The Pride shot 51 percent from the floor, while limiting the Dragons to just 38.2 percent shooting and 26.7 percent from 3-point range. Tramayne Hawthrone scored 13 points off the bench, including a 4-of-7 effort from 3-point range to go along with six assists for the Dragons. Scott Rodgers also finished in double figures with 10 points.

The Dragons have struggled to score points this season, ranking last in the CAA in points per game at 59.9. Drexel also ranks at or near the bottom of the league in free throw, field goal and 3-point shooting. The Dragons are only shooting 61.8 percent from the free throw line, 41.1 percent from the field and just 30.7 percent from 3-point range. Drexel does ranked among the league leaders though in scoring defense as well as field goal and 3-point field goal percentage defenses.

Elegar leads the charge for Drexel at 15.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. He was a Preseason First-Team All-CAA choice after earning second-team honors last season. Elegar ranks sixth in the CAA in scoring, fifth in rebounds and sixth in field goal percentage at 56.2 percent. He also ranks third in the league in blocked shots at 1.8 per game. Hawthorne is the only other Dragon averaging in double figures at 10.3 points per game. Freshman Gerald Colds comes in at 8.2 points per game and is the squads leading 3-point shooter at 37 percent.

Drexel Series History
Drexel leads the all-time series at 14-3 against the Tribe. The Dragons had won 12 straight in the series and every game since joining the CAA in 2001-02 prior to the College’s 60-47 win in Williamsburg last season. The Tribe limited Drexel to its lowest output of the season. The Green and Gold defense held the Dragons to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 9.1 percent from 3-point range in the victory. Laimis Kisielius led the Tribe charge at home with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Nathan Mann added 12. Drexel rebounded to take the contest in Philadelphia, 64-57, toward the end of the 2006-07 campaign. W&M is winless in Philadelphia against the Dragons, having dropped all eight contests.

Defensive Intensity
One of the main reasons behind the Tribe’s five-game winning streak has been its play on the defensive end. The College ranks among the CAA leaders in numerous defensive categories this season, including scoring defense, field goal percentage defense and 3-point field goal percentage defense.

The Tribe is second in the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to just 62.8 points per game. At its current rate, the scoring defense average would be the lowest since the 1998 team held opponents to just 61.8 points per game. The last time W&M held opponents below 60 points per game was during the 1983-84 season when foes averaged just 59.4 points per game against the Green and Gold. W&M also ranks second in the CAA in field goal percentage defense and third in 3-point field goal percentage defense. Opponents are only shooting 41 percent from the field and just 30.6 percent from 3-point range against the Tribe.

W&M’s defensive numbers are also pretty impressive on a national level. As of Jan. 17, W&M ranked 73rd in scoring defense and 90th in field goal percentage defense. Both those numbers are from the NCAA statistics released on Jan. 17. The Tribe’s defensive 3-point percentage ranks 28th nationally according to Kenpom.com as of Jan. 20.

While the Tribe’s season numbers have been impressive on defense, those statistics have been even more impressive during the College’s five-game winning streak. W&M is limiting opponents to just 57.8 points per game over the last five contests. Tribe foes are shooting just 39.6 percent from the field, while averaging 14.2 turnovers per game.

When In Need, Turn to a Senior
With high expectations to start the season, the Tribe has relied heavily on its senior class in more than one way. The College’s senior class of Laimis Kisielius, Nathan Mann, Chris Stratton, Kyle Carrabine and Marcus Barnett was the first recruiting class brought in by W&M head coach Tony Shaver and his staff. As juniors in 2007, the group helped W&M to its first 15-win season in a decade. So far in their senior campaigns, the quintet appears to have the Green and Gold on track for another memorable season. The Tribe’s transformation this season can be attributed to both the senior class’s basketball skills as well as its development as vocal and positive leaders.

The group includes the Tribe’s trio of captains in Kisielius, Mann and Stratton. After a slow start to the season, they have W&M off to its first five-game conference winning streak since 1998. The group’s leadership was not any more evident than in its victory over Towson. Kisielius led W&M in scoring and rebounding with 17 points and a career-high tying nine rebounds. Stratton hit a clutch 3-pointer from the top of the key to extend the W&M lead back to five, 41-36, after Towson had closed to its closest gap of the game at two points. Mann did his part as well, drilling a critical jumper with the shot clock running down under a minute to play, pushing the W&M lead out to six points at 57-51.

It is not the first time the trio has come through in a big spot for the College. They spearheaded the Tribe’s trio of double-digit comeback victories, including the win at Georgia State. Over the final 15:14 of the game against the Panthers, Kisielius, Mann and Stratton scored 20 of the Tribe’s final 28 points in rallying from a 16-point deficit.

Where is it coming from?
A quick look at the Tribe’s statistics, especially over the College’s last nine games, will show that any player on the W&M roster could give opponents fits on any given night. Six different players have led W&M in scoring this season and eight in total have scored in double figures at least once during the 2007-08 season. Sophomore David Schneider has led W&M in scoring on six occasions, while fellow classmate Danny Sumner has pulled the trick five times. Seniors Laimis Kisielius and Nathan Mann have led W&M in scoring on four occasions each.

Over the last nine games, all five W&M starters are averaging at least nine points per game, including four in double digits. The balance in scoring is uncanny as the Tribe’s top four scorers over the last nine games are separated by a mere 0.2 points per game. Kisielius leads the charge at 10.4 points per game followed by Sumner at 10.3 and junior Peter Stein and Schneider at 10.2 points per contest.

Tribe Streaking in League Play
The Tribe’s victory over Towson was the College’s fifth straight Colonial Athletic Association win. Over the stretch, W&M has claimed a trio of victories at home and two more on the road. The streak began with a road win at Old Dominion, before returning home to defeat James Madison. W&M downed Georgia State on the road and then, disposed of Northeastern and Towson at home in its most recent contests.

The five-game CAA winning streak is the Tribe’s first since the 1997-98 season, and in fact, it is only the fourth time in conference play that W&M has won five or more games straight. The1997-98 squad was the last time to do it, winning seven straight league games during the month of February. The 1996-97 (five) and 1982-83 (nine) squads also have won five or more regular season conference games straight. The 1982-83 squad, which played the ECAC South as the CAA was known before the 1985-86 season, won 10 straight league games. The team completed the nine-game conference season unbeaten and won its opening ECAC South Tournament game.

Decisive Stretches on Defense
In the Tribe’s last four victories, the Tribe has relied heavily on its defense. W&M has limited its opponents to only 57 points a game in the wins victories. Included in each of those games was a decisive defensive stretch. Here is a look at an important defensive stretches for W&M in the last four wins:

- Over an eight-minute stretch, the Tribe turned an 11-point deficit at the 8:55 mark into a four-point lead with 38 seconds remaining in the comeback win over James Madison. The College limited JMU to 2-of-8 shooting over the stretch to go along with four turnovers, while outscoring the Dukes, 22-7.

- W&M limited Georgia State to 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from the field over the final 15:14 of the game to rally from a 16-point hole. In contrast, the Tribe hit 10 of its final 13 shots, including each of its last seven.

- In the comeback win over Northeastern, W&M held the Huskies to just one field goal over the final 12 minutes of the game, allowing the Green and Gold to overcome a 12-point halftime deficit. NU turned the ball over six times over the stretch and was only 1-of-5 from the field. W&M also held Northeastern off the scoreboard over the final 4:43 of the game, scoring the final eight points of the contest in tallying the win.

- Leading, 53-50, following back-to-back 3-pointers by Towson with 5:48 remaining, the Tribe put the clamps on the Tigers to earn its fifth straight win. Over the final 5:45 of the game, W&M limited Towson to just a single point on a free throw, while the Tigers were 0-of-6 from the field with two turnovers.

Locking Down the Opponent’s Best
In the Tribe’s last three victories, W&M did a good job of limiting its opponent’s best player at key times in the game. Against Georgia State and Northeastern, W&M struggled to stop its opponent’s best player in the opening minutes of the game, but found the defensive swagger it needed late in the game. In its most recent win over Towson, the Tribe put the clamps on the Tigers leading scorer.

Junior Hairston entered the contest with the Tribe averaging 14.1 points and pulling down 10.8 rebounds, but the Tribe held him below both averages. Hairston finished with eight points and nine rebounds, but did not score in the second half. W&M limited the Towson bigman to only seven shots.

Against Georgia State, the Panthers’ leading scorer Leonard Mendez, who entered the game rankings third in the CAA at 16.9 points per game, finished with 15 points, but during the Tribe’s comeback over the final 15 minutes, W&M locked the GSU shooting guard up. W&M switched from its patented zone defense to a man-to-man defense after GSU took a 16-point lead with 15:14 remaining. In the man-to-man system, senior Nathan Mann was matched up with Mendez and limited him to just two points, which came on a steal and fastbreak dunk, on 1-of-5 shooting from the floor.

In the comeback win over Northeastern, the Huskies’ leading scorer Matt Janning entered the game averaging 16 points per game, which ranked among the top five in the CAA. Janning got off to a great start against W&M, scoring 10 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the field in the opening 10 minutes of the game. The early hot streak propelled NU to a 20-9 lead with 9:45 remaining in the first half. It would be more or less the last time Janning would be heard from in the scoring column. The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year hit 1-of-2 from the free throw line over the final 10 minutes of the first half, but went 0-of-4 from the field for the rest of the game. He finished with only 11 points and did not score in the second half.