Tribe Hosts UNCW in Second-Place Battle

W&M hosts UNC Wilmington on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m.

02/01/08 5:30PM

Williamsburg - Saturday night’s CAA match-up in Williamsburg will pit two of the hottest teams in the league when the William and Mary men’s basketball team, winners of seven of its last eight, hosts UNC Wilmington, who has won five straight. Tip-off for the battle of second-place teams in the CAA is slated for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena. It will be the first of two contests between the long-time CAA foes over the next two weeks.

The Tribe is coming off its fourth straight road victory in which it knocked off rival James Madison, 70-67, on Jan. 30. The College shot 64.7 percent in the second half and 66.7 percent from 3-point range for the game to outdistance the Dukes. Senior Nathan Mann led the W&M charge with a game-high 19 points, including a 5-of-6 effort from 3-point range. UNCW rallied from a 19-point deficit to win at Old Dominion, 68-65, on Jan. 30. Valdimir Kuljanin recorded a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while T.J. Carter scored a game-high 25 in the victory.

Fans can catch all the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast can also be heard over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Live stats for the contest will be available at the home for W&M Atheltics.com.

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

Story lines
- W&M has connected on double-digit 3-pointers in each of the last three games. The Tribe is shooting 48.6 percent (34-of-70) over the last three.

- Five of the Tribe’s last six victories have come by three points or less.

Senior Nathan Mann is shooting 49 percent (24-of-49) from 3-point range over the last eight games. He has connected on five or more treys in two of his last three games.

Scouting UNC Wilmington
UNC Wilmington, like the Tribe, enter Saturday’s contest as one of the hottest teams in the Colonial Athletic Association. The Seahawks have won their last five contests and six of its last seven overall to pull into a second-place tie in the league standings with W&M and George Mason. UNCW is 14-8 overall in its second season under the direction of head coach Benny Moss.

In its most recent victory at Old Dominion on Jan. 30, the Seahawks trailed by 19 points early in the second half, but rallied for a 68-65 victory. Seniors Valdimir Kuljanin and T.J. Carter led the charge for UNCW, combining for 45 points. Kuljanin tallied his ninth double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Carter scored a game-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds. UNCW shot 45.8 percent from the field for the game and held a 42-35 advantage on the boards.

Carter tops the Seahawks in scoring at 16 points per game, which ranks seventh in the CAA. He also leads UNCW in assists and ranks sixth in the league at 4.2 per game. Kuljanin nearly averages a double-double on the year at 13.7 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 65 percent from the field. His rebounding total ranks 22nd nationally, while his shooting percentage is sixth nationally. Senior guard Daniel Fountain is one of the top 3-point shooters in the CAA and averages 13.7 points per game. He tops the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.3 percent). Senior Todd Hendley rounds out the Seahawks double-digit scorers with 12.5 points per game go to along with 5.2 rebounds and 56.3 percent shooting average.

The Seahawks are one of the top offensive teams in the CAA, ranking among the league leaders in nearly every offensive category. UNCW is second in scoring at 73.2 points per game. They top the league in field goal percentage (47.3 percent), assists (14.7) and free throw shooting (76.6 percent). UNCW’s free accuracy ranks seventh nationally. On the flip side, the Seahawks rank near the bottom of the league in scoring defense (72.4), field goal percentage defense (44.8 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (36.2 percent).

UNC Wilmington Series History
UNC Wilmington leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 34-15, including a 17-7 mark in Williamsburg. Last season, the two teams split the regular season affairs with each winning on the opponent’s home floor. UNCW tallied its lone CAA road victory of the season last year in Williamsburg, 67-61, before the Tribe returned the favor, 61-55, in Wilmington. W&M was forced to play without it second-leading scorer in Laimis Kisielius in the Williamsburg contest and could not rally from an eight-point halftime deficit. Nathan Mann led the Tribe to its first win in Trask Coliseum since 1994 with a career-high tying 25 points in the Tribe’s 61-55 win a season ago.

Road Warriors
After a difficult early season schedule that included six of its first seven games on the road, W&M is starting to find success away from the friendly confines of Kaplan Arena. The Tribe is currently 4-1 in CAA play in road games, leading it to a second-place standing in the league. The College has won each of its last four road contests, the second-longest single season road winning streak in school history. It marks the 11th time W&M has won four straight road games, and the first since the 1994-95 season. The single-season school mark is five set during the 1941-42 season. The four-game road winning streak is not only the longest current streak in the CAA, it is the longest in the league this season.

The four straight road conference win streak ties for the longest since the school joined the CAA. W&M also won four straight league road games in 1982-83 when the conference was known as the ECAC South. The Bruce Parkhill-led squad was a perfect 9-0 in league play and won all four its road games on the way to the school’s only postseason appearance in the NIT.

It marks only the fourth time in the College’s 71 years of being affiliated with a conference that it has won four or more straight league games on the road. Over the last two seasons, the Tribe has been road warriors in league play, winning a combined eight games away from Williamsburg. Last season, W&M won four CAA road games and have won four of its first five this season.

Longest Conference Road Winning Streaks
1. - 1941-42 (Southern Conference) - 5
2. - 2007-08 (CAA) - 4 - (Jan. 5-Present)
2. - 1982-83 (ECAC South) - 4 (Jan. 8-Feb. 23)
2. - 1964-65 (Southern Conference) - 4 (Jan. 16-Feb. 3)

Longest Road Winning Streaks
1. - 1941-42 - 5
2. - 2007-08 - 4 (Jan. 5-Present)
2. - 1994-95 - 4 (Jan. 14-Jan. 26)
2. - 1982-83 - 4 (Jan. 8-Jan. 22)
2. - 1982-83 - 4 (Feb. 16-March 2)
2. - 1964-65 - 4
2. - 1934-35 - 4
2. - 1932-33 - 4
2. - 1931-32 - 4
2. - 1929-30 - 4
2. - 1920-21 - 4

Free Throws Valuable to Success
Free throw shooting has proven to be another key ingredient in the Tribe’s winning recipe this season. As the season has progressed the Tribe has gotten better from the charity stripe both in percentage and frequency of attempts. Getting to the foul line has been a valuable commodity for the Green and Gold as W&M is 9-1 this season when connecting on more free throws than its opponent.

The Tribe is 7-2 this season when shooting 20 or more free throws in a game and 22-11 over the last three seasons when pulling the trick. It is just as important for the Tribe to connect on its free throw opportunities. W&M is 7-1 this season when making more than 15 free throws in a game. Over the last two seasons, the College has posted a 13-5 mark when connecting on 15 or more free throws.
The Tribe’s record jumps to 10-2 over the last three seasons when hitting on 20-plus free throw attempts, including a perfect 3-0 this season. W&M connected on 22-of-30 and 20-of-30 in back-to-back wins at Old Dominion (Jan. 5) and against James Madison (Jan. 9) this season. The College connected on 20-of-28 from the charity stripe in the most recent contest with the Dukes.

W&M has increased its free throw percentage throughout the 2007-08 season and currently ranks fifth in the CAA at 69.5 percent. Over the last nine games, the Tribe has connected on 73.3 percent (118-of-161). The Green and Gold is shooting nearly five percentage points better from the foul line in victory. W&M hits at a 71.5 percent (158-of-221) clip in wins compared to just 66.2 percent (86-of-130) when it loses. W&M is 8-4 this season when shooting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.

Reaching the 1,000-Point Mark
With his 3-pointer from the right corner at the end of the first half in the Tribe’s 70-67 win over James Madison, senior Laimis Kisielius became the 29th William and Mary player to score 1,000 points in his career. The Vilnius, Lithuania native currently sits at 1,001 points in his career and is leading the Tribe in scoring at 12.3 points per game over his senior campaign.

Senior guard Nathan Mann is within reach of joining his fellow classmate in the 1,000-point club. He could become the 30th member of the exclusive club in the 103-year history of Tribe basketball. Mann has 910 career points and needs only 90 over the remainder of the season. Mann will need to average 10 points per game over the rest of the regular season to reach the mark.

If Mann reaches the milestone this season, the duo would become only the third pair in history to score their 1,000th career points in the same season. Matt Courage and John Lowenhaupt both scored their 1,000th career points in 1977, while Matt Verkey and Carl Parker reached the mark in 1996. Kisielius and Mann would be the first to do it in the same season after spending their entire careers together. Two other duos, Bev Vaughan and Jeff Cohen (1958-61) as well as Kevin Richardson and Keith Cieplicki (1982-85), played their entire careers together, but scored their 1,000th career points in separate seasons.

Bombs Away
W&M has proven that opposing defenses need to be well aware of the Tribe’s ability to shot the basketball from 3-point range. In each of the Tribe’s last three game it has connected on double-digit 3-pointers, bringing its season total of double figure trey games to six. Both the three consecutive games and the six in a season are the most in W&M history.

The Tribe started its most recent streak with 14 treys at Drexel (Jan. 23), before hitting 10 against both Old Dominion (Jan. 26) and at James Madison (Jan. 30). The College drilled double-digit threes in back-to-back games earlier this season with 14 at Wagner on Nov. 20 and 10 against Houston Baptist on Nov. 25. W&M also drilled 12 3-pointers in the victory over Fairfield on Dec. 31. The Tribe has connected on 10 or more 3-point field goals in a game on 15 occasions under head coach Tony Shaver and is 9-6 in those contests.

Prior to the back-to-back double-digit 3-point efforts this season, W&M had only connected on 10 or more treys in back-to-back games on four occasions in school history. The last time W&M did it before this season was against Liberty (14) on Nov. 23 and at Radford (11) on Nov. 24 during the 2003-04 season. W&M also accomplished the feat in 1998-99 (10 vs. UNCW [1/7/99] and 10 at American [1/13/99]), 1996-97 (10 vs. George Mason [2/15/97] and 12 at James Madison [2/19/97]) and 1995-96 (10 at ODU [2/21/96] and 10 vs. George Mason [2/26/96]) campaigns.

The previous record for double-digit 3-point efforts in a season was four. W&M pulled the trick during the 2003-04, 1995-96, 1993-94 and 1992-93 seasons.

Bombs Away Part 2
The Tribe has been the most lethal 3-point shooting team in the CAA this season. W&M leads the league in 3-pointers made per game, knocking down 7.85 treys per contest. That average also ranks 86th nationally as of Jan. 27.

The College is on pace to once again better the school-record mark for 3-pointers made. Last season, W&M set the program standards with 200 made treys on 624 attempts. The Green and Gold is on pace to knock down 228 3-point field goals on attempt 625 from downtown this season. The 7.85 3-pointers per game would also establish a program mark, bettering the mark to 6.93 set in 1998. W&M”s current 3-point percentage of 36.4 ranks as the fourth-best in school history.

Each of the College’s 14 3-point efforts this season against Wagner and Drexel tied for the third most in school history behind only the school-record marks of 16 hit against George Mason (1/24/96) and vs. UNC Greensboro (12/21/93). The College’s 10 treys in the second-half against Wagner were also the third most triples in a single half in school history.

W&M has shot over 50 percent from 3-point range on three occasions this season. The College was a season-best 66.7 percent from downtown at James Madison, hitting on 10 of its 15 attempts. It was the highest percentage the Tribe has shot from 3-point range since hitting on 75 percent (6-of-8) from long range against Old Dominion on Feb. 17, 2001.