Last-Second Schneider Trey Sends Tribe to CAA Quaterfinals

Sophomore David Schneider scored a game-high 20 points, including a 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to give W&M the win over Georgia State.

03/07/08 7:15PM

Richmond, Va. - Call it deja vu, but this time the shoe was on the other foot as William and Mary sophomore guard David Schneider came off a Peter Stein screen to drill a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 1.5 seconds left, capping a Tribe come-from-behind victory over Georgia State, 58-57, in the opening round of the CAA Championship. After falling on a Panther buzzer beater last season in the very same round of the league tourney, it was the College’s chance to return the favor and tally a win in the conference championship for only the fourth time. W&M improved to 15-15 on the year with the triumph.

Schneider scored a valuable eight points over the final 46 seconds of the game and finished with a game-high 20 points, including 14 in the second half. The Phoenix, Ariz., native was 6-of-8 shooting from 3-point range to go along with two steals and three assists compared to zero turnovers. He was flanked by fellow classmate Danny Sumner, who finished with 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Senior guard Nathan Mann finished with a team-high six rebounds and three assists in the Tribe victory.

Things looked bleak for the College late in the second half. Despite cutting a six-point Georgia State halftime lead to two on numerous occasions in the second half, W&M struggled to get over the hump. After a Sumner free throw with 2:10 remaining in the second half cut the deficit to 50-48, the Fairfax, Va., native had a chance to pull W&M even on a free throw line jumper 30 seconds later, but the opportunity bounded off the back iron. GSU’s Deven Dickerson pulled down the board, was fouled on the play and hit both free throws to extend on the Panther led to four, 52-48. The lead went back to six, 54-48, moments later as Georgia State’s D.J. Jones made a steal and converted it into a fastbreak lay-up with just 1:25 left.

Mann jumped started the final Tribe surge, scoring on a pull-up jumper from the top of the key to cut the deficit back to four. W&M, like it has for most of the season, turned to its defense, pressuring the Panthers into turnover. Following the turnover, Schneider narrowed the gap to one on a longball from the left wing with 46 ticks on the clock. After a pair of free throws from Trae Goldston with 27 seconds remaining, it was again Schneider on the offensive end for the Green and Gold as he drove baseline and floated a shot over the top of a GSU defender to cut it back to one, 56-55.

W&M was once again forced to foul this time sending last year’s buzzer-beating hero and Third-Team All-CAA choice Leonard Mendez to the charity stripe. The 6-5 sharpshooter, who was only a 69.6 percent foul shooter on the year, missed the first and converted the second to give GSU a 57-55 lead with 7.9 seconds remaining. Schneider brought the ball up the court and Stein freed him with a nice pick on the left side. The rest will go down in Tribe lore as Schneider’s shot tickled the twine and sent the Green and Gold faithful into a frenzy. The Panthers last gasp chance with 1.5 seconds left came up short, and W&M advance to the Saturday’s quarterfinals.

After struggling from the floor in the first half of play, W&M shot 50 percent (11-of-22) from the floor in the second 20 minutes. The College did a good job of getting to the free throw line and protecting the basketball. W&M attempted 29 shots from the charity stripe, but only hit 16 of those chances, while the Tribe turned the ball over just nine times on the afternoon.

Both teams started the day off cold from the floor, but W&M was able to generate points by getting to the free throw line. The College scored the first four points of the contest from the line and after an alley-oop lob to Sumner from Schneider, W&M led 6-2, four minutes into the contest.

Georgia State seized control of the contest with an 11-0 run over the next five minutes. Mendez sparked the run with five points, including a 3-pointer from the left wing, while Dickerson scored four points on the spurt. The GSU advantage reached as many as nine, 21-12, on Mendez third trifecta of the opening half at the 9:28 mark.

A jumper from Justin Billingslea put GSU back on top by nine, 31-22, with 1:55 remaining. W&M was able to narrow the gap to six before the halftime horn. All-CAA honoree senior Laimis Kisielius scored the final three points of the half. He connected on a free throw, before a leaner in the lane with six seconds remaining cut the deficit to 31-25 at the intermission.

W&M closed the deficit to a single possession in the opening minutes of the first half. Schneider started the second stanza by connecting on a trey from the right side. After a GSU bucket, freshman forward Marcus Kitts converted a conventional 3-point play to close the gap to 33-31, four minutes into the second half.

The Panthers responded as Goldston knocked down a trey and Mendez scored on an offensive putback. The five quick points started a trend in the second half pushing the lead to seven 38-31 at the 14:37 mark. On two other occasions, W&M would pull within a single possession only to see GSU answer and push its lead back seven.

After a Sumner jumper cut the lead to 38-36, Lott scored five straight points to put GSU back on top by seven, 43-36. The Tribe narrowed the gap to 43-40 on a steal and fastbreak dunk from Sumner at the 7:22 mark, but GSU answered with five of the game’s next six points to push the lead back to seven. A pair of freebies from Dickerson at the 5:23 mark put GSU on top, 48-41.

W&M advances to the CAA Quarterfinals where it will meet the No. 4 seed Old Dominion at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 8. The two teams split the regular season meetings with each winning on the others’ home floor. The CAA Quarterfinals will be televised on CN8 and aired regionally on WSKY Channel 4.

The broadcast will be available on the Web at CN8.tv. Fans can follow the action on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast can also be heard live over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com. The entire CAA Men’s Basketball Championship will be broadcast nationally on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 119, and in Richmond on ESPN Radio 950 AM. Live statistics for the event will also be available at CAASports.com.

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