Tribe Set for CAA Title Tilt with George Mason

W&M advanced to its first-ever CAA Championship Game on a last-second jumper from Laimis Kisielius to defeat regular season champion VCU, 56-54, on Sunday.

03/10/08 7:00AM

Richmond, Va. - The William and Mary men’s basketball team will be making its first-ever appearance in the Colonial Athletic Association Championship Game on Monday night. After a trio of last-second victories, the College will meet George Mason in the title tilt at 7 p.m. It is the second time the Tribe and Patriots have met in the last 13 days, but this time the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be on the line. The championship game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes on the call.

W&M continued its magical ride through the CAA Tournament, upsetting the top-seed and CAA regular season champion VCU, 56-54, in the semifinals on Sunday. Senior Laimis Kisielius made a spinning move at the elbow and banked home a six-foot leaner with three seconds remaining to send W&M to the finals. Kisielius finished with a game-high 23 points, while sophomore Danny Sumner continued his impressive play at the CAA Tournament with 19 points. George Mason defeated UNCW, 53-41, in the other semifinals to earn its ninth trip to the CAA title game. Folarin Campbell led the Patriot charge with 15 points, while Louis Birdsong added 10 and Will Thomas pulled down 14 rebounds.

Fans can follow W&M on the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The broadcast will also be available online at TribeAthletics.com. The CAA final will also be broadcast nationally on Sirius Satellite Radio channel 119, and locally, on ESPN Radio 950 AM in Richmond.

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

For Tribe fan information guide to the CAA Championship click HERE.

Making the CAA Championship Game
- W&M is playing in its first-ever CAA Championship Game. It is the College’s sixth title game overall as the Green and Gold played in the Southern Conference Championship Game on four occasions (1958, 1961, 1965, 1975)and in the ECAC South title game in 1983. W&M is 0-5 in those title game contests.

- The Tribe matched its all-time win total at the CAA Tournament with its three wins in the 2008 event. W&M won single games in the league tourney in 1988, 1997 and 2005.

- W&M became the first No. 5 seed in the history of the CAA Tournament to defeat a No. 1 seed and the first to advance to the conference championship game.

- The Green and Gold is playing for its first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament. W&M has made one post season appearance in its 103-year history, going to the NIT in 1983.

- The win over VCU was the Tribe’s 17th on the year. It marks only the sixth time in school history that a W&M team has won 17 or more games. The previous five times, W&M won 20-plus games.

- The Tribe snapped a 12-game losing streak to VCU. It was head coach Tony Shaver and the W&M senior class’ first win over the Rams.

- W&M is 0-2 against George Mason in the CAA Tournament. The Tribe fell to the Patriots in the 1988 semifinals and in the 1989 quarterfinals.

- W&M advanced to its first CAA Championship Game. The furthest W&M had advanced in the league tournament was the semifinals in 1988 and 1997.

- W&M is only the second team to win three games to reach the finals of the CAA Tournament, joining George Mason from a season ago. No team has ever won four games to claim a CAA title, and W&M has a chance to become the lowest seed since No. 7 East Carolina in 1993 to win the league championship.

- Four of the Tribe’s six CAA Tournament wins have come under reigning CAA Coach of the Year Tony Shaver.

- The Tribe tallied its first win over Old Dominion in the CAA Tournament during Saturday’s quarterfinals. ODU had won the previous five meetings in the league tournament.

Last Second Heroics
W&M has won each of its three games in the CAA Tournament on a shot with less than 10 seconds remaining. Sophomore guard David Schneider knocked down a 25-foot 3-pointer from the top of the key to send W&M past Georgia State, 58-57, in the opening round. In the quarterfinals, senior guard Nathan Mann hit a 3-pointer with 7.5 seconds remaining from the left wing. In the semifinal victory over VCU, senior Laimis Kisieluis hit the game-winner on a leaning six-footer off glass with three seconds left.

Win No. 17
With its trio of wins in the CAA Tournament, the Tribe bumped its win total to 17 and clinched its first winning season in a decade. It is only the sixth time in school history that a team has won 17 or more games. The only other times the Tribe has won 17 or more games was in 1948-49 (24), 1949-50 (23), 1950-51 (20), 1982-83 (20) and 1997-98 (20).

The Tribe also won 15 games a season ago, marking the 10th time in school history that W&M has posted back-to-back seasons of 15-plus victories. The back-to-back 15-plus win campaigns over the last two years is the first time in 25 years (1981-82 and 1982-83) that the Tribe has accomplished the feat.

The win over VCU also assured the Tribe would finish the season record of over .500, marking the first time since 1997-98 that W&M has had a winning season. Coupled with the Tribe’s .500 season in 2007, it marks the first time in 23 years that the Tribe has posted back-to-back .500 or better seasons.

Kisielius Leads Tribe to CAA Championship Game
Senior forward Laimis Kisielius broke out of his late season swoon in a big way during the CAA Tournament. The Vilnius, Lithuania native topped the Tribe with 16 points in a victory over Old Dominion, before pouring in a game-high 23 points, including the game-winner in the semifinal vs. VCU.

Prior to his 16-point effort against ODU, Kisielius was averaging 5.4 points on 19.4 percent (12-of-62) shooting from the floor in the previous eight games. The All-CAA honoree broke out of that slump over the last two games averaging 19.5 points on 63 percent (17-of-27) shooting from the floor. Kisielius scored 11 of the Tribe’s final 14 points in the win over VCU and overall accounted for 16 of the College’s 22 field goals. He added a team-best six assists to his 10-of-17 effort from the floor. With the game tied at 54, Kisielius made a spinning move at the elbow, before banking in a six-foot jumper as the shot click expired and with three second remaining overall to send the College to its first CAA title game.

Kisielius’ 23 points against VCU also generated another milestone. The 6-8, 225-pounder became the 22nd player in W&M history to register 1,100 points. He has scored 1,111 over his four-year career.

Sumner’s Coming Out Party
Sophomore Danny Sumner has been a valuable community for the Tribe throughout the 2007-08 season, but the CAA Tournament is looking more and more like the Fairfax, Va., native’s coming out party. He tops the Tribe in scoring at tournament at 17.3 points per game, turning out scoring efforts of 17 in the opener against Georgia State and 16 against Old Dominion, before tallying a career-best 19-point outburst in the semifinals vs. VCU. He is shooting 50 percent from the field at the CAA Tournament and has knocked down a trio of 3-pointers in each of the last two games.

Over the last 24 games, Sumner is the Tribe’s leading scorer at 11.5 points per game and has tallied double digits in 17 of those contests. In games in which he starts, Sumner is averaging 12.2 points per game and the Tribe is 14-7 in those contests.

Sumner has tallied 20 double-digit games this season, which leads the Tribe. He has scored over 15 points in a contest on seven occasions, including each of the last three games of the CAA Tournament.

While it is an obvious statement, Sumner’s offensive numbers get better the more he shoots the ball and the Tribe’s chances of winning increase as well. When the Tribe sophomore attempts eight or more shots in a game, the Tribe is 12-6 on the year. While he is averaging 10.6 points per game overall, Sumner’s numbers jump to 14.5 points per game, while shooting 53.5 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range when he attempts eight or more shots in a game.

Equaling a School Record
Senior guard Nathan Mann will tie the school record for game’s played in the championship game of the CAA Tournament. Ed McMillan holds the record after playing in 120 from 1948-51.

Seeing Major Minutes
With his 109 total minutes in the opening three games of the CAA Tournament, sophomore guard David Schneider shattered the W&M school record for minutes played in a season. He has played 1,103 minute this season and is averaging 34.4 minutes per contest. The Phoenix, Ariz., native bettered the W&M record of 1,033 minutes set by Scott Coval in 1986. Schneider’s minutes per game rank 14th in W&M history.

Senior guard Nathan Mann moved into eighth on the Tribe’s single-season minutes played list with 977 and his career total of 3,117 ranks fourth in the program’s annals. Fellow classmate Laimis Kisielius joined Mann in the Tribe’s 3,000 career minute club against Georgia State. Only six players in W&M history have played more than 3,000 minutes, including Mann and Kisielius. Kisielius has played 3,083 minutes during his career. The duo also ranks second and third in career games played for the Tribe at 119 and 116, respectively.

Taking Aim at the CAA 3-Point Records
After setting the CAA record for 3-pointers attempted in a season during its opening round win over Georgia State, W&M has a chance to better the mark for 3-pointers made as well. The Tribe has knocked down 248 treys on 726 attempts.

With its 23 3-pointers in the opening three games of the CAA Tournament, the Tribe moved into second on the CAA single-season 3-pointers made list. The College has connected on 248 treys this season. W&M is only eight threes shy of tying the record set by Hofstra in 2006-07. The Pride connected on a CAA-record 256 longball a season ago.

W&M broke the CAA record for 3-pointers attempted in a season with its 22 attempts against Georgia State on Friday. The Tribe has attempted 726 3-pointers on the season, bettering the old record of 681 set by Northeastern in 2005-06. Ironically enough, the record breaker was sophomore David Schneider game-winning trey against Georgia State in the Tribe’s CAA Opening Round win.

Defensive Pressure
Over the Tribe’s last five games, W&M has really stepped up the defensive pressure. The College is holding its opponents to just 57 points per game. The Green and Gold’s 56-54 win over VCU marked the 13th time this season W&M has limited its opponent to under 60 points. The College is 9-4 in those contests.

In the CAA tournament, the Tribe has limited its opponents to 57 points per game. Georgia State, Old Dominion and VCU have shot only 40.3 percent from the floor