W&M Continues Road Trip at UNCW

The Tribe will play the Seahawks for the second time in 11 days when it travels to Wilmington on Feb. 13.

02/12/08 10:45AM

Williamsburg - The William and Mary men’s basketball team continues its three-game road swing with a midweek affair against UNC Wilmington on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Tip-off for the contest is slated for 7 p.m. at Trask Coliseum. It will be the second meeting between the two teams in 11 days, as W&M claimed a 70-66 win over UNCW in Williamsburg on Feb. 2.

The Tribe is coming off a 51-42 setback at Northeastern, which snapped a four-game road winning streak. Senior Nathan Mann led the Tribe in scoring for the second straight game with 12 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior forward Peter Stein became the first W&M player in two years to pull down double-digit rebounds with a career-high 11 at Northeastern. Despite the loss at NU, W&M remained in a second-place tie in the CAA standings with George Mason at 9-4. UNCW snapped a two-game losing streak with a 99-85 victory on homecoming over James Madison. Rookie Chad Tomko led four UNCW players scored in double figures with a career-high 24 points.

Fans can catch the action on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast will also be available over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. Live video for the W&M-UNCW contest will be available on Hawk Vision at UNCWSports.com. The contest of the live video feed is $8.95.

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

Story lines
- W&M ranks 54th nationally in 3-pointers made at 8.1 per contest. Senior Nathan Mann’s 43 percent from 3-point range ranks 38th nationally.

The Tribe will look to garner its 10th league victory, marking only the second time in school history that W&M has won 10 or more CAA games.

Scouting UNC Wilmington
The Seahawks enter the contest a game back of the Tribe and George Mason at 8-5 and in fourth-place in the Colonial Athletic Association standings. UNCW snapped a two-game losing streak with a 99-85 homecoming victory over James Madison on Feb. 9. Wilmington is 15-10 overall on the season and 5-2 in Trask Coliseum under the direction of second-year head coach Benny Moss.

In the victory over James Madison, four Seahawk players scored in double figures, including a career-high 24-point effort from freshman guard Chad Tomko. T.J. Carter and Daniel Fountain both poured in 20 points for UNCW in the victory. Valdimir Kuljanin was a perfect 7-of-7 from the field to round out the double-digit scorers at 15 points. UNCW shot 61.8 percent from the floor to overcome a 37-point effort from JMU’s Abdulai Jalloh, which was the highest point total by a CAA player this season. UNCW was also 22-of-27 (81.5 percent) from the charity stripe in the win.

Prior to the win over JMU, the Seahawks had dropped close road affairs at W&M, 70-66, and at Delaware, 68-67. In the loss to W&M, Kuljanin had 18 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way. The Seahawks led by as many as nine in the second half at Delaware, but a 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining gave UD the victory.

Carter tops the Seahawks in scoring at 16 points per game, which ranks sixth in the CAA. He also leads UNCW in assists and ranks sixth in the league at 4.1 per game. Kuljanin nearly averages a double-double on the year at 13.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, while shooting 65.7 percent from the field. His rebounding total ranks 22nd nationally, while his shooting percentage is the fourth best in the country. Senior guard Daniel Fountain is one of the top 3-point shooters in the CAA and averages 13.6 points per game. He ranks second in the league in 3-pointers made per game (3.0) and 3-point field goal percentage (44.1 percent). His 44.1 percent from beyond the arc is 27th in the country. Senior Todd Hendley rounds out the Seahawks double-digit scorers with 12.4 points per game go to along with five rebounds and 55.1 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 73.7 points per game. They top the league in field goal percentage (47.7 percent), assists (14.5) and free throw shooting (75.6 percent). UNCW’s free accuracy ranks 14th nationally, while its field goal percentage is 33rd in the country. On the flip side, the Seahawks rank near the bottom of the league in scoring defense (72.6), field goal percentage defense (44.5 percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (35.6 percent).

UNC Wilmington Series History
UNC Wilmington leads the all-time series with the Tribe at 34-16, including a 16-8 mark in Wilmington. The Tribe though has won the last two games in the series. Earlier this season, the Tribe rallied for a 70-66 victory over the Seahawks in Williamsburg. Senior Laimis Kisielius and freshman John Sexton paced the College with 15 points each, leading a group of five Tribe players in double figures. Senior Nathan Mann had 11 points while both sophomore David Schneider and junior Peter Stein each tallied 10 points. W&M took exceptional care of the basketball only turning the ball over five times, while taking a commanding lead in the points off turnovers category at 24-6. Last season, W&M claimed its first victory in Trask Coliseum since 1994 with a 61-55 victory. Mann led the Tribe to the victory with a career-high tying 25 points.

On the Boards
Junior forward Peter Stein became the first W&M player in two years to pull down double-digit rebounds with his career-high 11 at Northeastern on Feb. 9. Ironically enough, the last Tribe player to pull down 10-plus rebounds was Corey Cofield, who had 11 boards at Northeastern on Feb. 2, 2006. The 11 rebounds by Stein bettered his career-high of nine set earlier this season at Drexel. The Houston, Texas native currently leads the Tribe in rebounding at 4.7 per game. He has topped the College on the glass in nine games this season, including four of the last six contests. He is averaging 5.2 rebounds per game in CAA play.

Conference Wins
Through the opening 13 games of the CAA schedule, the Tribe has already amassed nine league wins. The nine wins equal the second-most for a W&M team since joining the CAA in 1982-83. Prior to the 1985-86 season, the league was known as the ECAC South. The Tribe won nine games in 1982-83 (9-0) and 1984-85 (9-5) prior to winning a program-best 13 league games in 1997-98.

The 2007-08 version of Tribe basketball can join some elite company with its next league win. In the program’s 71-year affiliation with a conference, only seven W&M teams have won 10 or more league games. It occurred six times as a member of the Southern Conference (1948-49 [10], 1949-50 [12], 1950-51 [13], 1951-52 [10], 1959-60 [10] and 1962-63 [10]) and only once as a member of the CAA (1997-98 [13]). W&M was a member of the Southern Conference from 1936-77, before joining the ECAC South from 1977-85. The Tribe was a charter member of the CAA and has been with the league since 1985.

Balanced Scoring
While the Tribe is enjoying success during the 2007-08 season, the College has done so without a marquee scorer further promoting the team dynamic behind the Green and Gold’s impressive play. No W&M player ranks among the top 20 in the CAA in scoring, but three players currently average in double figures with another not far behind.

Senior Laimis Kisielius leads the Tribe in scoring at 11.8 points per game followed by sophomore David Schneider at 10.9 and senior Nathan Mann at 10.3 points per game. The trio of double digit scorers marks the first time since head coach Tony Shaver’s first season that three Tribe players have averaged in double figures. During the 2003-04 season Adam Hess (20.3), Corey Cofield (13.2) and Zeb Cope (12.0) averaged in double digits.

Sophomore Danny Sumner is the Tribe’s fourth leading scorer at 9.6 points per game just shy of the double-digit barrier. The last time four W&M players averaged in double digits was during the 1995-96 campaign. During that season, Carl Parker led the way at 15.2 followed Bobby Fitzgibbons (12.3), David Cully (11.5) and Matt Verkey (10.9).

In CAA play, Kisielius, Mann, Schneider and Sumner are all averaging in double digits. Kisielius leads the way at 12.7 points per game, while Mann is second at 11.6 per contest. Schneider and Sumner are both chipping in 10 points per game in league play.

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 4-2 in CAA play in road games, leading it to a second-place standing in the league. Prior to its road setback at Northeastern on Feb. 9, the College won four straight road contests, the second-longest single season road winning streak in school history. It marked the 11th time W&M 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 straight road conference win streak tied 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 marked 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 six this season.

Mann On a Mission
Senior guard Nathan Mann has been one of the driving forces behind the Tribe’s recent success. Over the last 13 games, Mann is the College’s second-leading scorer at 12.4 points per game. In fact, he has lifted his season scoring average to a career-best 10.3 per game. The Overland Park, Kan., native has led the Tribe in scoring on seven occasions, including a game and season-high 22 points in the College’s victory over Hofstra on Feb. 6.

More impressive than his scoring has been Mann’s ability to shoot the ball from long range. Over the last 13 games, Mann is shooting 48.7 percent (40-of-82) from 3-point range, lifting his season average to 43 percent, which ranks second in the CAA. It is also the 38th-best 3-point shooting percentage in the country, while his 2.52 treys per game is ranked 100th nationally.

His 3-point field goal percentage is also the fourth-best 3-point percentage in school history and the highest for a Tribe senior. The best 3-point percent for a W&M senior in school history is the 39.6 percent from Thomas Roberts in 1992-93. Mann is also averaging 2.52 3-pointers per game, which ranks third in the CAA. The per game clip is currently the second best single-season total in W&M history.

In three of the last six games, Mann has connected on five or more 3-pointers. He drilled a career-high six against Drexel, before hitting five against both James Madison and Hofstra. In the Tribe’s overtime victory at Drexel, Mann became just the sixth player in W&M history to hit at least six 3-pointers in a game. It marked the 15th such occasion in school history and was also a career-high for the Overland Park, Kan., native. The last time a Tribe player connected on six triples was Nick D’Antoni at James Madison in 2004.