Tribe Winning Streak Snapped by Monarchs

W&M drew its largest crowd in a decade with 5,284 fans witnessing the Tribe-Monarch affair.

01/26/08 11:30PM

Williamsburg - In front of its largest crowd in a decade, the William and Mary men’s basketball team saw its six-game Colonial Athletic Association winning streak come to an end at the hands of Old Dominion, 72-59, on Saturday night. A crowd of 5,284 witnessed the Tribe-Monarch affair, the largest at Kaplan Arena since the 1997-98 campaign. W&M remained in second-place in the CAA standings at 6-3 in league play and 10-9 overall, while ODU upped its mark to 10-11 on the season and 5-4 in CAA action.

Senior Laimis Kisielius turned in a career-high performance with 26 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field and a 5-of-10 effort from 3-point range. Sophomores Danny Sumner and David Schneider rounded out the Tribe performers in double figures at 13 and 10 points, respectively. Schneider topped the Tribe with six assists compared to just one turnovers, while junior Peter Stein led the Tribe on the boards with six.

After a Kisielius lay-up gave the Tribe a 9-8 lead five minutes into the game, Old Dominion took its largest lead of the opening half with six straight points. Ben Finney capped the mini-spurt for the Monarchs with a lay-up, giving ODU a 14-9 advantage at the 13:01 mark.

Old Dominion maintained its cushion over the next five minutes, before the Tribe seized the momentum and brought the large Green and Gold contingent to its feet. W&M, led by the marksmanship of Kisielius, went on a 15-2 run. The Vilnius, Lithuania native caught fire, connecting on three-straight 3-pointers, including a pair from deep at the top of the key.

After an ODU timeout resulted in a score to pull the Monarchs within two at 26-24, W&M scored six more straight points. Kisielius connected on a pair from the charity stripe, before a Sumner fast-break steal and lay-up. Schneider capped the run as Kisielius found the sophomore guard on a backdoor cut, giving W&M a 32-24 lead with 3:45 remaining in the opening half.

The Monarchs, though, went to the break with the momentum, using a 9-2 run to cut the deficit to a single point, 34-33. The biggest play of the run came on the Darius James trifecta from the left wing, before Brian Henderson capped the run with a lay-up. The teams traded 3-pointers from Sumner and Henderson before the final horn as W&M took a 37-36 lead to the locker room.

Out of the intermission, ODU took the lead, scoring the opening four points of the half. Marsharee Neely converted on a lay-up, before a Gerald Lee jumper gave the Monarchs at 40-37 less than two minutes into the second half.

Kisielius scored three straight W&M points on a lay-up and free throw to pull the Tribe even at 40. A John Sexton trey from the right side gave W&M a 45-42 lead at the 13:58, before Henderson answered with his second 3-pointer of the game just over a minute later. From there both teams went on a cold spell from the floor.

Neither team connected on a field goal over the next six-plus minutes of the game. The lone difference over the stretch was ODU’s ability to get to the free throw line, knocking down all six of its chances over the stretch. W&M got a pair from the charity stripe as well as Schneider canned a pair at the 6:32 mark to pull the Tribe within 51-47.

The Monarchs had the answer though as Henderson and Lee connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the ODU lead over double-digits for the first time in the game. Lee’s trifecta from the right side at the 5:31 mark gave Old Dominion a 57-47 cushion.

Despite having already overcome a trio of double-digit second-half deficits this season, the Tribe could get no closer than seven the rest of the way. The Tribe pulled within seven following a 3-pointer from senior Nathan Mann at the 5:06 mark and after Kisielius step-back jumpers at the 3:50 and 3:12 marks of the second half.

W&M canned double-digit 3-pointers for the fifth time this season, going 10-of-29 from long range. The Tribe shot a better percentage than ODU from the field, 41.5 percent to 40.7 percent, but the Monarchs shot a sizzling 50 percent from the floor in the second half to claim the win. Old Dominion was also impressive from the charity stripe, knocking down 17-of-17, while also holding a large advantage on the glass.

The Tribe will return to action when it travels to James Madison on Wednesday, Jan. 30. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. in Harrisonburg. Fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The game can also be heard over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com.

Box Score