Seniors Shoot Tribe to Gutsy Triumph at Drexel

Seniors Nathan Mann and Laimis Kisielius combined for 38 points and 10-of-15 from 3-point range in the win over the Dragons

01/23/08 11:30PM

Philadelphia, Pa. - The City of Brotherly Love has not been very friendly to the William and Mary men’s basketball program, but Wednesday night the College gutted out a 73-72 overtime victory at Drexel for its first-ever win in Philadelphia. In a nip-and-tuck slugfest that featured 10 ties and 15 lead changes, the College shot 52.9 percent from the field in claiming its sixth straight CAA victory of the season. The Tribe upped its mark to 10-8 overall and 6-2 in league play, while the Dragons dropped to 9-11 on the year and 2-6 in the CAA ledger.

The senior duo of Laimis Kisielius and Nathan Mann led the charge for the Tribe with 20 and 18 points, respectively. The pair was dynamite from long range, canning a combined 10-of-15 from 3-point range that led a W&M barrage of 14 3-point field goals. Mann established a career-high with six 3-point field goals. The six treys were the seventh most in W&M history, and he became just the sixth Tribe player to hit six or more trifectas in a game. The 14th longballs were the third-most in school history, equalling the mark set early this season against Wagner. Sophomore Danny Sumner rounded out the Tribe’s double digit scorers with 14 points on 5-of-8 from the field.

After Drexel tied the game in the closing seconds of regulation, Kisielius drained back-to-back 3-pointers to open the overtime session, staking the College to a lead it would not relinquish. The second one came from deep on the left side of the key with the shot clock running down and gave the College a 71-66 advantage with 3:04 to play.

The Dragons closed the gap to a single-point on a pair of occasions the rest of the way. The last time came on a lay-up from Scott Rodgers with 47 seconds remaining in the extra session to set up a dramatic ending. W&M worked the ball into the post, but Drexel collapsed, forcing a turnover with 15 seconds remaining. The Dragons used their final timeout with 3.5 seconds left to set up a game-winning attempt. The Tribe defense held true through, forcing the ball to Tramayne Hawthrone 30 feet from the basket. His desperation attempt from 3-point range caromed off the back rim and was corralled by W&M sophomore David Schneider.

The Green and Gold held a 30-28 advantage on the glass thanks to a team and career-high nine from junior Peter Stein. The Houston, Texas native also led the College with four assists. Schneider had a solid floor game, finishing with seven rebounds, three steals and three assists compared to just one turnover in 39 minutes of action.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but the Tribe caught fire first, opening up its largest lead of the night at 21-12 following four straight 3-pointers midway through the first half. Mann connected on a pair of threes during the run, while freshman guard John Sexton drilled a deep, off-balance 3-pointer with the shot clock running down. Kisielius’ trey from the right side at the 10:04 mark capped a 12-2 Tribe run.

The Dragons responded with a quick seven-point spurt to close the gap to two points. Rob Hampton, who earned his first start of the season for Drexel, scored five points on the run, including his first 3-pointer of the year from the left wing. The trey closed the gap to 21-19 with 8:18 remaining.

The contest continued its back-and-forth nature over the remainder of the opening half. A conventional 3-point play from Drexel’s Frank Elegar with 5:39 left off a fast-break alley-oop dunk gave the Dragon’s a 27-26 lead. Elegar led Drexel with 24 points and 15 rebounds in the loss. W&M responded right back with a fast-break bucket of its own. Junior Chris Darnell drilled a wide-open trey from the left side, giving W&M a 29-27 lead at the 4:46 mark.

W&M scored the opening five points of the second half to break a 33-all tie at the intermission. Junior Peter Stein scored on a driving lay-up off the dish from Kisielius, before Mann knocked down a 3-pointer to give the College a 38-33 cushion less than a minute into the second stanza.

Drexel scored seven of the game’s next nine points to pull even at 40 with at the first media timeout of the second half. The two teams continued to trade blows over the next nine minutes of the contest. A Rodger’s free throw with 6:36 remaining tied the game for the ninth time at 56.

After a Randy Oveneke jumper gave Drexel at 58-56 lead at the 4:39 mark, it was Mann, who took the game over for the Tribe. The Overland Park, Kan., native scored the College’s final nine points of the contest on a trio of 3-pointers. His trifecta at the 4:12 mark put the Tribe on top by a point, before his second trey of the run put the Green and Gold on top by four, 62-58, with 2:30 left.

Hawthorne pulled Drexel back to within a point on a three from the left corner, but Mann answered right back less than 30 seconds later with his fourth longball of the second half. W&M miscues though allowed the Dragons to tie the game. Rodgers pulled DU within two points on a pair of free throws at the 1:03 mark, before his leaner in the lane with 20 seconds remaining forced OT.

The Tribe will return to action when it welcomes Old Dominion to Kaplan Arena on Saturday, Jan. 26. The contest will be televised locally on WSKY TV and is slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off. Fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Bill McDonald on the call. The game will also be broadcast over the Web at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats for the contest can be found at the home for W&M Athletics.

Box Score