Sexton Garners CAA Rookie of the Week Honor

The Tribe rookie led W&M in scoring with 15 points on 3-of-5 from 3-point range in the victory over UNC-Wilmington.

02/04/08 6:10PM

Richmond, Va. - Tribe freshman guard John Sexton was named CAA Rookie of the Week, the league office announced on Feb. 4. It marks the second straight week a W&M player has been honored by the league after senior Laimis Kisielius was the conference player of the week on Jan. 28. Sexton is the first Tribe rookie to garner the honor since sophomore David Schneider won the accolade on a pair of occasions last season.

“I am really happy for John and for our program,” head coach Tony Shaver said. “It is always nice to have a young man recognized by the league, but I feel it is a reflection of our program as a whole. The things that I have been the most pleased about with John has been his defense and improved overall play. We know he can score and shoot the basketball, but John has put in the work to improve the other aspects of his game as well. It was real neat in the game against Wilmington to watch his teammates look for John when he was hot shooting the basketball.”

Sexton enjoyed a breakout performance in helping the College to a 70-66 win over UNC Wilmington on Feb. 2. The Myrtle, Miss., native tallied 15 points and shared team-high scoring honors with Kisielius. Sexton was 4-of-6 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3-point range to go along with a 4-of-6 effort from the free throw line. He also had a rebound and an assist to in a career-high 18 minutes of play.

The 6-3 sharp shooter led all scorers with 10 points in the opening half, but none bigger than the final five. Over the closing 1:20 of the first half, Sexton drilled a 3-pointer and then scored on a driving lay-up with three seconds left to close the W&M deficit from seven to two, 32-30, heading into the locker room. He came up with another big five points in the second half, during the College’s 16-2 run that turned a seven-point deficit into a seven-point lead with six minutes remaining. With the Tribe down six, Sexton scored five straight points on a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws to close the gap to 50-49.

For the week, Sexton averaged 10.5 points per game and shot 71.4 percent (5-of-7) from 3-point range. He was a perfect 2-of-2 from long range in the win at James Madison. His deep 3-pointer from the right side midway through the second half extended the W&M lead to six, 44-38, against the Dukes.

On the year, Sexton is shooting 48 percent from 3-point range, while averaging 2.7 points per game off the Green and Gold bench. He has been a deadeye as of late, shooting 69.2 percent (9-of-13) from long range over the last six games. He has connected on a three in each of the College’s last six games.

The Tribe returns to action when it hosts Hofstra on Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 7 p.m. It will be the only regular season meeting between the two schools this year. Fans can catch the action on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. It will also be available as will live stats over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com.