William and Mary Lights Up Williamsburg on Thanksgiving Eve (Recap of VMI vs. W&M)

Several weeks ago, my brother had to cancel out on our original plans of his wife and him coming down for Thanksgiving.  Then my family and I accepted an invitation from my good friend Mike to join his family for Thanksgiving.  The plan was to drive up Wednesday morning from Columbia to our hotel in Williamsburg.

A few weeks ago, as I was reviewing the college basketball schedule for this week, I noticed that William and Mary was hosting VMI on Thanksgiving Eve.  Never one to pass up a great opportunity to see college basketball on the road, especially #CAAHoops basketball, I told Mike of my Wednesday night plans and asked him to join my color analyst, aka my older son Matthew, and me to watch the game.   Mike was unavailable but was kind enough to reserve two tickets for Matthew and me at Will Call.  

We left Columbia about 10:00 AM on Wednesday and despite the constant rain during the six and a half hour trip, we made it to the Historic Powhatan Hotel at about 4:30 PM.   After a quick nap, Matthew and I made the short drive to William and Mary Hall, where the Kaplan Arena is located on the  campus of William and Mary.

The William and Mary Hall was built in 1971.  It includes athletic offices and the multipurpose Kaplan Arena, which seats 8,600 for basketball and 11,300 for other events.  Despite being built forty two years ago, the site lines in the arena are quite good.  We were up in the Mezzanine level, Section 23, Row E, which was literally center court.   Matthew and I felt close to the action.  If you like green and yellow seats, this is the arena for you.  Matthew appropriately was dressed in green.

When you get to an arena 45 minutes early, you get the chance to peruse the GameDay Notes that the home team provides for some Twitter and Blog post tidbits.  Entering Wednesday's game, VMI was 12th in the country in scoring, averaging 91.5 points per game.  The Keydets also were 10th in the country in 3 pointers made at 9.8 per game, 4th in blocked shots w 8.3 and 5th in the country in my favorite stat, turnover margin at 7.5.  VMI averages 11 steals per game.

W&M also was ranked highly in various statistics.  Entering the Wednesday night game, the Tribe were 19th nationally in 2 pt Field Goal Percentage and 67th in effective Field Goal Percentage.  W&M was also first in the CAA in Field Goal Percentage, assists and steals. 

After a beautfiul rendition of the national anthem performed on violin by one of the William and Mary cheerleaders,  Matthew and I were ready for some pre turkey basketball.  Based on the statistics, it looked like we were in for a high scoring game with lots of forced turnovers.   It turns out though on Wednesday night, only one team brought their shoes on offense.

Dan Crain,  a Drexel fan that I am friends with, has started a great new blog called "Dragons Speak".  But it's more than just about Drexel, it's about college basketball in general.  In a recent article entitled "The New NCAA Rules - Why The Dribble Drive is Your Friend", Dan notes that William and Mary, once known as a three point shooting team, has become a 2 point field goal team, mainly due to the new NCAA rules which have clamped down on the physicality in college basketball.   And as noted in a previous paragraph, the Tribe were 19th in the country in the fwo point field goal percentage coming into the game.  The first fifteen minutes would prove Dan prophetic.

VMI came out and took a 3-0 lead on a Rodney Glasgow three.   But W&M came back and scored the next two baskets to take a 4-3 lead, a lead they would never relinquish.  Glasgow would score five of the first seven Keydets' points.   VMI was only down 9-7 after three plus minutes into the game.

It was clear early on that the Tribe wanted to work the ball inside to center Tim Rusthoven, affectionately known in #CAAHoops circles as "Beasthoven", and forwards Kyle Gaillard and Terry Tarpey.   W&M would go on a 21-4 run over four plus minutes.  A Rusthoven layup would cap the spurt with a layup to make it 30-11 with twelve minutes left in the half.

What was most impressive about the Tribe offense over the first eight minutes was that they only attempted two three point field goals, both successful attempts by freshman Omar Prewitt.   Prewitt would later nail a third three pointer to put the Tribe up 35-16.  The lead would swell to twenty one, 38-17 with a little more than eight minutes left in the half.

But for the rest of the half, William and Mary got away from their offense. In the first fourteen minutes of the game, the Tribe had only attempted four three point attempts, which Prewitt hit on three of them.  Over the final six minutes of the half, W&M missed on all eight three point attempts.  VMI, who entered the game with a 4-2 record, took advantage, outscoring William and Mary 19-9 during that span to enter halftime only down nine, 44-35.

There were two very surprising statistics from the first twenty minutes.   First, Marcus Thornton, who entered the game leading the CAA in scoring average at 21.6 points per game had only two points on two field goal attempts.  Second, the Keydets only forced three Tribe turnovers, while committing six themselves.  

The start of the second half saw William and Mary revert to their original offense in the first half.  Beasthoven, who had missed a few first half bunnies, as William and Mary alum Josh Legette noted to me at halftime, scored the first two baskets for the Tribe.   A Tarpey layup extended the lead to twelve 50-38.

VMI quickly tried to adjust by overplaying inside.   This resulted in a lot of three point open looks for William and Mary and the Tribe took advantage.  W&M hit on three of their next four shots from beyond the arc; two by Julian Boatner and one by Prewitt.   The Tribe had extended their lead by nineteen, 61-42 with fourteen minutes left.

But the run was far from done.   Over the next six and a half minutes  minutes, the Tribe would bury another five 3 pointers, three from an unleashed Thornton.   After a Beasthoven tip-in, William and Mary would be up 86-54 with seven and a half minutes left in the game.  

All that was left was whether the Tribe would score 100 points.  And when reserve forward Fred Heldring calmly knocked down a three to make it 97-64 with two and a half minutes left, it looked like the William and Mary fans in attendance would get that mark.  But alas, the Tribe missed their last few shots and the Tribe faithful would have to settle for an impressive 97-67 win.  

The Tribe shot 49 percent from the field, including 12 of 27 from beyond the arc.  William and Mary hit a ridiculous nine of fifteen 3 point attempts in the second half.   Beasthoven lived up to his name with a double double, leading all scorers with 26 points and 16 rebounds.  The impressive freshman Prewitt added 22 points on 5 of 7 shooting from beyond the arc.  Thornton added 11 points and Tarpey just missed a double double with 10 points and 9 rebounds.  The Tribe had 20 assists and only six turnovers.

It was a long night all around for the Keydets.  VMI scored twenty four points under their season average.  The Keydets also committed thirteen turnovers which gave them a minus seven for the evening.  They only had five steals on the night and were 6 of 25 from beyond the arc, also under their season average for three pointers made.  The Keydets did have four players in double figures.  Trey Chapman led the way with 16 points, Glasgow added 15, QJ Peterson added 12 and Brian Brown had 11 points for VMI.

As we left the Kaplan arena, Matt and I were very impressed by a Tribe team that had played shorthanded on the night.  Starting guard Brandon Britt is suspended for a few more games for violating team rules and reserve freshman forward Daniel Dixon, who averages twelve minutes a game, was out due to injury.   The Tribe will be a force to reckon with in the CAA.

While we were making our way back to our our suite on the hotel property, we stopped in the middle of the road to let four deer cross from the woods to the pond on the hotel property on the other side.   The deer camped out by the fountain much in the same way Beasthoven did in the paint last night.  

My guess is that the deer probably feasted on the grass as much as Beasthoven did on the Keydets.  

For the Tribe, Close Losses Becoming a Habit (Recap of George Mason vs Willian & Mary)

Last Saturday afternoon I made the drive three hours south to Williamsburg, Va. with some friends for the George Mason game at the College of William and Mary. (I'd hoped to recap this game a little sooner, but I've tried to make it up by providing some photos this time).

The Tribe have had one of the better seasons in what has been an ugly non-conference showing for the CAA overall. They played a relatively weak non-conference schedule, but they beat pretty much all the teams they were supposed to beat. However, when faced with tougher competition, an unfortunate pattern has repeated itself. At Wake Forest, the Tribe blew a late lead and lost by six. At Richmond, they fell in double overtime. At Purdue, they again fell apart down the stretch and lost by seven. Double-digit losses to Miami of Ohio and Vanderbilt ended more poorly, but both times the Tribe was in the game at least until the second half. As a result, William and Mary were still very much an unknown going into the Mason game.

This was my first visit to Kaplan Arena, an 8,600-seat gym that the Tribe unfortunately rarely fills. On the whole, it was a pleasant experience. The seating bowl and sight lines are underrated. One inconsistency I noted was that the concession stands and restrooms seemed small for so large a venue, but they were sufficient for the 3,506 on hand. The College’s students were still away on winter break, which meant there weren’t many students on hand, and also, apparently meant there was no pep band, and only a token number of cheerleaders.

A friend of mine was able to score us tickets right behind the George Mason bench, which provided a rare glimpse into just how much communications happens during the game, and who the most vocal coaches and players are. I was surprised by how constantly some of Mason’s bench players were yelling to their teammates on the court -- for example, warning them about an open shooter on their blind side.

For once, George Mason got off to a hot start, hitting their first three shots for a 7-0 lead and forcing a quick William and Mary timeout. A Sherrod Wright fast break dunk made it 11-2 before the Tribe found their offense, fueled by back-to-back three pointers from guards Brandon Britt and Marcus Thornton. The two teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, leaving the score at 18-11 Patriots at the 13 minute mark.

From there, the home team began to tighten the game, as junior forward Tim Rusthoven asserted his presence in the paint for back to back buckets, and the visitors turned it over twice, then committed some cheap fouls. Tribe leading scorer Marcus Thornton cut the lead to 18-17 with a pair of free throws, before a Wright layup made it 20-17 at the 9:55 mark.

Mason's offense got back on track as Patrick Holloway picked off a pass under the basket, and lead the break back the other way, spinning around two defenders before passing ahead to Edwards in the corner. Edwards quickly passed back to a driving Johnny Williams for the dunk. The Patriots hit the three-pointers and turned offensive boards into baskets, stretching their lead to 31-23 at the under-4 media timeout.

Out of the timeout, a Thornton three-point play ended the 13-4 Patriots run, and ignited the crowd. Energized, the Tribe forced Mason into several bad shots in a row. More frustrating, especially for Hewitt, were several iffy calls by the officials. First, Wright appeared to be hit in the head and fouled hard on a layup, yet was called for a charge. Second, a Mason put back was waived off for supposed offensive basket interference, even though to my eye (and apparently Hewitt's) the ball hit the rim and deflected away from the rim before it was touched. Third, a Vertrail Vaughns three-pointer was waived off because of a three-second call in the paint (the only one of the game despite plenty of standing around by both teams).

All parties, not just the Mason faithful, became frustrated when the shot clock was inadvertently reset on an emphatic Erik Copes blocked shot, and the referees needed nearly five minutes to find the real shot clock time via video review. Hewitt spent most of the stoppage complaining about the previous calls, especially the interference play and Wright's blow to the head, and continued the conversation at halftime, before heading to the locker room.

Mason was fortunate that the half was almost over, because nothing broke their way over the last few minutes of the first half. The crowd was loud and in to the action, the Tribe were hot, and Mason couldn't get a stop or make a shot themselves, failing to score a field goal for the last 4:38 of the first half. The Patriots managed only a pair of Wright free throws and went to the locker room down 37-33.

During the first half, Mason coach Paul Hewitt began to experiment with a new lineup, placing both point guards (the starter Corey Edwards and his backup Bryon Allen) on the floor at the same time. This is a move that some Mason fans have speculated about for weeks, and it seemed to pay off, as Edwards acted at the distributor on offense, while Allen was able to focus on defense and his ability to run the floor and drive to the basket.

The second half began with the two teams slowly trading baskets for the first six minutes or so, but then Mason began to go on a run, as Wright scored two quick baskets and assisted on a third, giving the Patriots their first lead of the half on a steal and layup. William and Mary quickly called time out with 12:20 to play, trailing 45-43.The Tribe missed two three-point attempts on the ensuing possession, before Bryon Allen made a free throw for Mason, and Brandon Britt hit a layup to cut the Tribe deficit to one.

Edwards pushed the ball quickly up the floor after the made basket, finding freshman sharpshooter Patrick Holloway all alone in the left corner, and Holloway hit on a lightning quick three-pointer before the Tribe defense could get back. Mason had the momentum now, and Jonathan Arledge hit a pair of free throws to stretch the lead to 51-45 Patriots with 10:38 to play.

But the Tribe, and especially Tim Rusthoven, weren't done. Rusthoven found ways to get deep in the paint against the Mason frontcourt, and scored two layups and knocked down an and-one free throw to help cut the deficit to 53-51. Wright, who already had 18 points for the Patriots, countered with a layup, but then made a very bad decision, picking up a dead ball technical foul for taunting.

Marcus Thornton (19 points) made both technical free throws, and then a layup, trying the game at 55-all, and Brandon Britt added one of two from the line to pull the home team back ahead, 56-55. Now was the danger point for the Patriots. Yet again, the momentum was slipping away from them. But Wright stepped up, seemingly fueled by his frustration with his own mistake. The junior scored 10 points in a six minute stretch to finish with a career high 28, and Johnny Williams (9 points) added a huge three-point play.

The Tribe were forced to trade free throws for layups, and the Patriots made 7 of 11 at the line down the stretch. Four straight empty possessions for William and Mary (7-6, 1-1 CAA) provided an insurmountable 68-61 deficit, and Mason held off the Tribe for a 73-66 win. Yet again, the Tribe held a late lead (58-57 with 5:21 to play) before folding down the stretch, giving up a 16-8 closing run to the visitors.

Despite the loss, I was impressed by what I saw from the College. It's hard to believe that Tim Rusthoven (19 points and 11 rebounds) is still only a junior in what feels like his sixth season in the CAA. The 6'9" forward has learned how to use his size and proper positioning down low. Just about every time he was able to post up and get deep enough into the paint, he scored, often drawing a foul as well from Mason's frustrated big men. The legend of "Beasthoven" will continue to grow if he repeats his performance on Saturday.

Three players did all the scoring for the Tribe -- Rusthoven and Thorton with 19 and Britt with 18, but they got little help from their teammates. Fellow starters Matt Rum and Kyle Galliard finished a combined 3-11 from the field, and the bench contributed exactly 2 additional points. The big three put up some very nice numbers, but they're going to need some help from their teammates if William and Mary want to capitalize on a weakened CAA.

As for the visiting Patriots (8-6, 1-1 CAA), each game for the last month or so has brought continued development from Corey Edwards as the starting point guard. Saturday, Edwards (10 points, 5 assists, 1 turnover) was able to keep himself out of foul trouble and play 33 minutes. This development allowed Bryon Allen to slide over and play shooting guard, where he seemed much more comfortable.

Another positive for Mason (besides the obvious -- Wright's continued dominance) was that they didn't let their mistakes snowball this time. Lapses on offense or defense didn't last long enough for the Tribe to pull away. To be fair, the home team had some opportunities, but they didn't have the unbelievable luck that Northeasten had in shooting 64% in the second half against Mason earlier in the week.