We are in for another long season. Anyway, I’ll give a recap(more or less) of tonights game, and a few other things going on.

The Good

Trum and AP both going for 12 tonight.
Kyle Carrabine and Alex Smith contributing.
Women winning by 23 @VT tonight.
David Schneider. Tonight showed how valuable he is.
Liamis with another solid game scoring-wise.

The Bad

Our record.
The field for the W&M tip-off classic(which we should win).
Liamis Kisielius’ assist-turnover ratio.
David Schneider out 1-2 weeks, tip-off classic.
Trumbower injures ankle/leg. He is also coming off a concussion from earlier in the week. We now have no point guard.
Kisielius with the flu.

The Ugly

Getting dropped by 16 @Navy.
Women losing by a bunch to High Point.
Navy shooting 64% from the field.(ugly to us)
Corey Cofield going scoreless(by my count).
Our shot at double-digit wins.

That’s all I got tonight. I love how we play our best against really tough HC and KSU teams, yet get crushed by a beatable Navy. Still looking foward to the Tip-Off Classic.

The Tribe ends it’s 2-game road trip in Annapolis, MD against the United States Naval Academy. Navy is 4-2 on the young season, wins against Loyola, Brown, UMES, and Stony Brook, and loses against Villanova and St. John’s. They really haven’t done anything unexpected, beating the teams they should beat. W&M is 1-2, with close losses against Holy Cross and Kansas State, and a blow-out of Wagner. This game will be a good indicator of how good both these teams really are.

Like Holy Cross, Navy has 3 players averaging double-figures. Greg Sprink, a guard, is one of the conferences top players and averages over 18 points per game. He is nearly perfect from the foul line and has good shooting percentages from the field. The other 2 are Trey Stanton, a foward, and Kaleo Kina, a guard. Stanton averages 11.2 points per game, but has low rebounding numbers(3 per) for a 6-10 player. Kina, a sophomore, is averaging 10.2 ppg, and is one of the teams top rebounders. He has too many turnovers, though.

The other 2 starters are TJ Topercer, a 6-7 foward, and Corey Johnson, a junior guard(they play 3). Topercer plays less than 20 minutes per game and averages 6 ppg. Corey Johnson is easily the top rebounder, and that is probably what keeps him on the floor. He is the only player on the team that could work on his foul shooting.

Adam Teague and Chris Harris are 2 other big contributors. Harris averages over 8 points in only 15 minutes, and Teague scores almost 6 per game. After those 2 the numbers drop off dramatically.

The one thing sticking out about Navy is their free throw shooting. Only 2 players on their team, Adam Teague(1-3) and Corey Johnson(9-16), have missed more than 2 on the season. Navy is 81-96, and has a percentage of 84.

The Tribe is coming off a tough loss at Holy Cross, a game we easily could have won. Adam Payton scored a team-high 15 to move his season average to virtually 10. He is the teams best defender, and will hopefully put the clamps on Sprink.

Laimis Kisielius is the team’s top scorer, averaging just under 15 on the year. He is very versatile, and is able to play every position. He was very sloppy against Holy Cross, with 5 TO’s. Ball control should be his top priority going to Annapolis.

Freshman point guard David Schneider is the 3rd potent scorer for the Tribe, averaging an even 10 on the year. He had his worst game of the season(0-7 from the field), but has been our star in the other 2 games. His effort on defense and spectacular(and unorthodox) shooting has made him a favorite of Tribe fans.

The Tribe has 3 other possible starters, Peter Stein, Nathan Mann, and Corey Cofield. Mann was brutal from the field the first 2 games, but got back his stroke against HC scoring 12. Cofield and Stein are both capable players down-low, but they went in different directions this week. Stein got 3 points and had 4 turnovers, while Cofield scored 8 and got 6 boards.

The Tribe can also get contributions down-low from Alex Smith, Steven Hess, Chris Darnell, and Danny Sumner. Sumner and Hess are both freshman, and Sumner has showed his incredible athletic ability scoring 12 off the bench against Wagner. He can flat-out dunk. Smith is also a monster, but needs to work on technique down low. He has been a disappointment this year. Darnell can be counted on to give you some solid minutes every game.

All-in-all, this game will come down to the wire. I really like this Tribe team, and think that they can pull through against a good Navy team.

W&M-68
Navy-67

It would be nice to pull an upset against a solid mid-major sometime.

The rebounding in the last couple minutes was absolutely terrible. When the stats come out, I’m sure they’ll show all of HC’s second chance points. This was the problem against Kansas State, and Coach Shaver tried to fix it, but it has been to no avail.

Also, in the second half we fouled way too much. Alex Smith was one of the main suspects, but they got into the bonus way too fast. Cut the fouls.

Thirdly, after tying the game we seemingly let up, and that’s when they put us into a 10-point hole. We flat-out couldn’t score, couldn’t rebound, couldn’t do anything in that time, and Holy Cross ran circles around us. Hopefully this can be motivation going to Navy on Tuesday.

A little bit more….

Leading scorer is Adam Payton, with 15 points and 5-14 shooting. Liamis was 4-10 for 10 points, and Nathan Mann broke through with 12 points. Nathan was the leading rebounder.

The big men, again, really need to pick it up in the rebounding department. They got 15 of the Tribe’s 32 boards. Yes, they were out-rebounded by the guards. This should be the point of emphasis this week in practice.

Schneider had his worst showing to date, only scoring 4 and going 1-7. You have to wonder if his ankle is still bothering him.

We had a better shooting percentage than HC. In the second half they outscored us and shot 25%! 9% from long range! We really need to get the turnovers down, 15 today compared to 11 assists. They had 21 second-chance points to our 14.

Holy Cross-66
W&M-57
Final.

The Tribe hits the road again for it’s first test(KSU wasn’t as winnable) to face the streaking Holy Cross Crusaders. This is the same team, if you don’t remember, that waxed us in the tip-off classic last season by 12(We were down 21 at the half). Last season they had 3 players score 15 or more on us, and 2 are back.

They are Torey Thomas and Keith Simmons. Simmons is leading the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game. He is a guard, and don’t be shocked if coach Shaver puts Adam Payton on him(I would). Thomas is the point guard, and is averaging 15.5 points per game so far this year. The Tribe guards will definitely have their hands full.

Their 3rd player in double figures(crazy, huh?) is Tim Clifford, a 6-10 senior. He averages 10.8 per game, and as a junior is in the HC top ten in shot-blocking. He didn’t do much against us this year, but looks to be one of the leagues top centers.

Rounding out the lineup is guard Pat Doherty and foward Alex Vander Baan. It seems our 3 guard lineup will work perfectly with them. Vander Baan fouled out against us in only 14 minutes last year, but seems to have that in control this season and is averaging over 7 points per game. Doherty was 0-6 from the field last year, and is only playing about half the games(less than the other starters). His percentages are still bad(7-21 from the field, 2-12 from 3), and his foul numbers seem high. Holy Cross’ website says he should compete with Thomas.

The Tribe’s numbers are spread out due to only 2 games and a blowout(everybody but Barnett has scored), but still have 2 players averaging double figures. Laimis Kisielius has been the best scorer so far, with an average of 17 ppg and good shooting percentages(.684 from the field). He has been able to consistently put the ball in the hoop, and that was something the Tribe badly needed coming into the year. The second is freshman point guard David Schneider, who has been the best player so far. He is averaging 13 points per game, 5.5 boards(most on the team), and a good a/to ratio. He has gone from no place to a rising star.

The guards joining Schneider are Nathan Mann and Adam Payton. Payton is known for his D, but has scored more than expected this year averaging 7 points, and has is also tied for the team rebounding lead with Schneider(both guards). Mann came into the season supposed to be one of the top scorers, but has only gotten 5 points in 2 games and is shooting 2-12 from the field. Nathan is the guy we really need to step up with McFadden gone, and due to depth still have to play him if he doesn’t. Kyle Carrabine and Adam Trumbower are also guards, and Trumbower should get time at point, but don’t expect either to do something spectacular.

The Tribe has a plethora of big men, but none have really stepped up. Only Peter Stein has made an impact on the boards. Corey Cofield is the leading scorer for them at 6.5 points per, but he was supposed to be the best player on the team and has laid a major egg. Danny Sumner blew up last game, scoring 12 in not too much time. Even though he is only a frosh, he needs to crash the boards more. Sophomore Chris Darnell has been solid so far, and freshman Steve Hess has done as much as we can expect. Another player I’m disappointed in is Alex Smith, the most athletic player on the team, who has been nonexistent this season. We need a big man to break through and be a force down low.

This will be a very tough game for the Tribe, facing an HC team that is 4-0(wins against Fairfield, Harvard, Siena, Hampton). I am going to go out on a limb and say HC overlooks the Tribe. The have Syracuse early next week, and I think they may be looking foward to that game. Tribe pulls the upset.

W&M-70
HC-62

The Tribe cruised to a 24-point win, leading wire-to-wire and having a double-digit lead most of the game.

Everybody played, but the team was led Laimis Kisielius. Laimis scored 18, and the first 8 points of the game. Danny Sumner had a huge game, getting 12 points in 16 minutes. David Schneider had another solid game, getting 8 points, 6 assists, and 2 boards.

Adam Payton got a career-high 8 rebounds, and he also scored 9 points. He had 2 steals, but played great D all game.

The point guard slot, when Schneider wasn’t in, was manned(no pun intended) but Nathan Mann and Adam Trumbower. Trum scored 2 points, and Mann got none. I would really like to see Nathan step up.

The big men started to play better this game. Corey Cofield scored 9 points and got 5 rebounds. Chris Darnell got 7 and 5. Stratton, Smith, Hess, and Stein got 2 points each.

The Tribe shooting was much improved, especially in the second half, and they end the game at 50%. The 50% from the charity stripe wasn’t great, but I’m sure it will be a point of emphasis this week.

W&M dominated the paint, a much-needed change, scoring 40 to Wagner’s 10. We’ll need to do the same to beat Holy Cross and their potent scorers.

A nice win for the Tribe, getting a W after playing solid in their first game. Holy Cross will be a tough opponent, who has won 3 straight and beat us at the Hall last season. It’s shaping up to be a great game.

Go Tribe!

Overview

I’ll keep it short and sweet. If the Tribe doesn’t win this game, we are in trouble. Wagner is 1-2, with loses to Manhattan and Lafayette, and the only win @ UMES by 6. Yes, the same UMES that in dead last in the sagarin rankings.

The Tribe will start stud freshman David Schneider at point Monday night. David scored 18 at Kansas State last week, grabbed nine boards, and had 7 assists. He was also in double figures in the scrimmage, and was probably the best player on the court both games. He is playing too much, though, being on the court for 38 minutes last game. The end to that amount of playing time isn’t near, though, back-up point guard Matt McFadden quit the team. Schneider is coming off an injured ankle, but should be fine for the game.

The Tribe starts 2 other guards, Adam Payton and Nathan Mann. Both went for double figures in the exhibition, but 5 each in the home opener isn’t getting it done. Mann fouled out in only 20 minutes and was 1-5 shooting, but that was uncharacteristic for him. He is probably the best shooter on the team, and should break through in the next game or 2. Payton is the team’s best defender, and that will keep him on the court all season long.

The 2 big men taking the court for the green and gold will be Peter Stein and Laimis Kisielius. Kisielius has been the team’s only other solid starter so far, dropping 16 vs. KSU and 17 vs. Barton College. He was 5-7 from the field and 3-3 from long distance last game, and could cause huge matchup problems Monday night. Stein played half the game, pulling down 6 rebounds and scoring 4 points. The Tribe has the most depth down low, Cofield, Smith, Sumner, and Darnell can all play, but none of them have done much of anything thus far. Most suprisingly, Corey Cofield got no rebounds last weekend. We really need the big men to be a collective force downlow.

Wagner’s only starting guard is Mark Potter, who averages 15.7 points per game. He started all 27 games last year, and was also a top 10 player in scoring and assists. So far he is averaging over 5 boards per game, and has a solid assist-turnover ratio.

Wagner has 3 other players averaging over 10 per game, in guard Joey Mundweiler, and fowards Jamal Smith and James Ulrich. They all shoot over 40% from the field, and Ulrich averages 8.3 rebounds per game. They make a solid 3-foward combo, Smith, Ulrich, and Justin Drummond(remember this name), and we’ll need our big men to step up.

The good news for the Tribe, Wagner only goes 8 deep. Don’t be suprised if it is close early, but the Tribe pulls away late.

Final Prediction

The Tribe keeps a steady lead early, within 7-10 points for most of the game. Late in the game, the Wagner Seahawks wear down and the Tribe wins by 17. 77-60 Tribe.

The Tribe narrowly bested North Texas, a game that was even until about the 10 minutes mark in the second half. With the mean green of NT leading 42-40, Dani Kell scored 8 and Sarah Stroh got another bucket, making the lead 50-44. Robyn Barton hit another 3 after a Kell steal, giving the Tribe a 9 point lead. The Tribe kept a lead of about 7 the rest of the game, but up 6 with around a minute left, the mean green’s Sanetra Jackson hit a 3 to make it a one-possesion game. That lead would hold, though, and the Tribe triumphed by the score of 64-58.

Dani Kell was the leading scorer, dropping 17 to go along with 3 assists and 4 steals. Sarah Stroh had a career high 12, but had only 1 assist and 6 turnovers! Not good from a point guard, to say the least. Devin James got 11 points, 7 being in the first 5 minutes of the game. She had a double-double, pulling down 10 boards. Kyra Kaylor fouled out with 9 points and 8 rebounds.

The shooting was great, aside from Kaylor. Rebounding was also good, but the passing was terrible and that is what kept the game so close. 21 turnovers, 10 assists.

The Tribe’s next game is Tuesday night against Longwood.

31-14.

Elijah got injured early, Couldn’t stop UR, and my indian drum broke. Could the day have gotten any worse? The solid play of Phillips towards the end of the game, getting 2 TD’s, kept me sane.

Thanks to the seniors.

The Tribe women’s basketball team beat Richmond, which is always a good thing, 67-54. It was their first win of the season.

Kyra Kaylor was the star of the game, dropping 18 and getting to the foul line a total of 13 times. Devin James played the entire game, scoring 12, and Dani Kell got 16. Sarah Stroh got 5 points and 6 assists, but the 7 turnovers were toublesome.

Either way, it’s good to see a Tribe win. Next home game is Sunday vs. North Texas, the home opener.

I’m going to do something a little different this week. I’m not paying attention to any stats, records, players, talent, nothing. This is Richmond. All stats go out the window in the 4th-oldest rivalry in college football. Both teams will be up for it, playing for bragging right’s(that the Tribe want back), and it will easily be the most exciting home game of the year. The Tribe gets an emotional win carrying over to next season, and crushes Richmond 38-10. The Tribe will put the ticks where they belong.