The Tribe Has Spoken

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