The Tribe Has Spoken

If this weekend didn’t get you excited, you may want to get your pulse checked.

Let’s start with Friday. The Tribe’s improbale run began in the strangest of places - a cold, empty Coliseum, with about 10 people in the student section, and the Tribe down by 6 with 1:25 to play. After taking such a leap forward in the regular season, was all hope going to be washed away by Georgia State, again!?!?!??!

But that was when David Schneider showed what was so different about this team. After a Nathan Mann jumper to make the lead 4, a DJ Jones back-court violation gave the fans hope. And then David gave them confidence. A deep 3 from the player we lovingly refer to as “Frodo” made the score 54-53. Two made GSU free throws later, we are down by 3 again, this time with 25 seconds left. But don’t panic, Schneider rushes it down court, runs the baseline and puts up an ugly little runner that somehow fell. Immediately the Tribe fouled, and this time the Panthers hit 1 of 2. So it is a 2 point game with 8 seconds left, and the Tribe called timeout. The logical choice is to get the ball to Sumner or Kisielius for an easy lay-up, right? Not so, David Schneider, gets across half court, puts up a 25-foot, off-balance 3, it rattles in, and with 1.5 seconds left all hell breaks loose. The Tribe is up by 1 with a second and a half left. A GSU prayer falls short, and the Tribe is moving on to a red-hot ODU team.

The 2 biggest concerns after scratching out a W vs. GSU were the seniors - Nathan Mann and Laimis Kisielius - shooting a combined 3-17 from the floor and 0-11 from 3. Everybody in the stands knew they would need to step up for the Tribe to even keep it close against ODU.

And step up they did. 8 first half points from LK gave the Tribe a 24-23 lead going into the intermission, and hope that this could actually happen. ODU is always a good team, but become great when they shoot well from 3(the difference between our win @ ODU and loss at home), and holding them to 16% from long distance at the half was huge.

The Tribe extended their lead throughout the half, but couldn’t get any breathing room until the 10 minute mark where Danny Sumner took over. In a 2 minute span he scored 8 straight Tribe points, with 2 threes going in and getting fouled on  the third where he drained 2 of 3. Those were 8 of his 13 second half points, and his progression throughout the season was highlighted in this tourney.

But back to the game, freshman PG Darius James got the Monarchs back into the game with a trey that brought the Monarchs within 5, followed by a Brian Henderson lay-up that brought ODU within 3. The lead see-sawed back and forth between 2 and 6 points, until ODU’s final push with a minute left capped off by a Gerald Lee lay-up giving the Monarchs their first lead since the first half, at 58-57. The only mistake they made was leaving too much time for the Tribe, and Mr. Clutch did it again, burrying a 3 with 1:17 left. ODU milked the clock down to about 45 seconds, and 8 over-the-back fouls and 1 lay-up later, the game was tied with 37 seconds left. Schneider brings it down the court and with 7 seconds left(cough) Nathan Mann finds the ball and a shot to win. He spins past a pick, and puts up another deep 3, that rattles around the rim, bounces off the glass and falls in. Wow. 63-60 with 7 seconds left. They inbound the ball to an open Brandon Johnson who gets a good look at the 3, but it does not fall and Nathan Mann - who else? - pulls it down to preserve the winner.

However ODU shouldn’t have had the chance they had. The second Nathan Mann touched the ball the clock stopped at 7.5 seconds, where he spun and nailed the 3. This took at least 4-5 seconds, and a crucial clock error was added to the list of things this team had to overcome to get where they are.

And we were facing a well-rested VCU team. On their court. After 2 emotional games. I don’t think anybody really gave us a shot. Except us.

A 6-point halftime deficit had the Rams sitting pretty, but a statement was made via 6 unanswered points in 2 minutes making the score even at 28. The lead changed hands 6 times after that, and came to a crucial tie with 3:26 left. An Eric Maynor 3 capped an 8-point VCU run to tie the game at 51, and was met with 2 and a half minutes of scoreless play. Finally, with 50 seconds left, Laimis broke the tie by nailing a 3 to give the Tribe a 3-point lead. But, like always, the Rams had answer in a Jamal Shuler 3 to tie it up. So like the last 2 days, the Tribe had the ball inside a minute with a chance to win the game. And becoming the third hero in 3 days, Laimis Kisielius took I want to say Mike Anderson to the bucket and banked one in off the glass from 6 feet to give the Tribe a 56-54 lead with 3 seconds left that wouldn’t be overcome. William & Mary is playing on ESPN in the CAA Tournament. Holy crap.

Monday night was possibly the best moment in the last 20 years of Tribe athletics. To see 25 or so students already in line 2 hours early to get into a game an hour away is so far from the norm at the college it is unreal. The students brought everything they had, as did the alums, as did the fans of everybody but GMU that attended the game last night, but Mason just had too many weapons to be stopped. However this game is not a sign of the end. A new era of Tribe basketball began last night. Losing Kisielius and Mann will certainly hurt, they were great players. But Danny Sumner finally showed his ability to dominate. And David Schneider is THE perfect point guard. He doesn’t do too much until he needs to. His feel for the game is incredible. Pete Stein played awesome defense the entire tournament and gets his share of points every single game. Marcus Kitts is going to be a star. He rebounds so well and plays like he is 7 feet tall. He looks a little lost in a zone defense and needs to finish better, but those things will come with experience. Darnell brings a great ability to penetrate that we really don’t have. Sexton returns next year as a sophomore, and he rarely misses from 3. It is unreal how well he shoots. Add in the return of Alex Smith and we know the team will be special next year.

But as if that isn’t enough to compete, I think the biggest sleeper for next year is Arkansas transfer Sean McCurdy. He has all kinds of talent and is the prototypical PG. I was told by somebody very very very close to the situation that he immediately became the fastest player on the team the first time he stepped on the court, and can shoot 3’s with the best of them. I have a feeling next year’s team will be the Tribe has seen in 30 or so years.

And with that, I’d like to salute the outgoing seniors.

Laimis, isn’t it great to see a player reach his potential? Laimis had been a disappointment for most of the 07-08 season, but his ability to turn it up to a level we had rarely seen for 3 straight days was invaluable. I will definitely miss Laimis, not only because he gives you confidence about your team just by being on the court, and was an instant match-up problem, but because he was a hilarious person that I hope every Tribe supporter got to meet.

Nathan, he is pretty much everything you can hope for out of a captain. He hit all kinds of big shots this year, and who doesn’t love a thorn in ODU’s side? That desperation 3 from half-court at the Ted, plus the game-winner on Saturday, what a player. You could always count on him to get the team fired up in big moments, yet he would also get in someone’s face if he didn’t like what they were doing. His spot will be tough to fill.

Kyle, I’m sure even he will admit his senior year wasn’t what he had hoped. Last season he played a huge part in the Tribe’s success, but didn’t really get as much PT during the regular season. Well that all changed this weekend. Kyle provided huge minutes and not only rested Nathan, but was the perfect team player. He rebounded well and played strong defense in games where every little thing counted.

And Stratt. Most walk-ons never see the court, but Stratt is not “most walk-ons” by any means. He provided size down-low when we needed it most without Alex, and puts the ball in the basket when given the shot(10 points vs. Houston Baptist anyone?????). Two-Five was easily one of my favorite players on the team, and Tribe basketball will not be the same without him wearing the jersey.

So thanks to all the seniors and the entire team and coaching staff for such a great season. Next year we will be back stronger than ever. Go Tribe!!!!!!!!