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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 6:02 PM

3:58, Tied at 24 Delaware forward Pau Geli draws his third personal foul. Guard Alphonso Dawson is sitting with two fouls, as is forward Jim Ledsome. Both teams are knocking the other around inside, keeping the rebounding battle even at 10 each. The game is tied for the seventh time tonight.

7:45, Delaware leads 18-16 Drexel’s Scott Rodgers goes in for a layup and extends his foot in a kicking motion, knocking down Delaware’s D.J. Boney. The stats look almost identical across the board as each team continues its fast-paced attack.

11:38, Drexel leads 13-11 Get ready for a slugfest as these two teams go right at each other. Drexel is shooting less but making more - mostly because Delaware is 1 for 5 from behind the arc.

15:40, Delaware leads 9-6 We’ve got a high level of athleticism on display early. Both teams look comfortable in a run-and-gun offense, a nice change from the early games.

17:27, Delaware leads 7-4 The closer vantage point becomes intense in a hurry. Times-Dispatch writer John Packett flawlessly fields an errant ball headed in his direction. JP’s a guy whose skills will only improve as he gets more touches. Also we have a stat monitor down here so we can pass along all sorts of insight.

Looks to be another small crowd for this one, though the Drexel students are noisy and on their feet.

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 5:59 PM

It’s time for the evening session, and we’ve moved into Times-Dispatch columnist Bob Lipper’s seat. Surprisingly, he was given a better seat than the inRich.com live blogger.

The temperature courtside is a crisp 42 degrees, and while we exaggerate, we do so only slightly. It feels like a Renegades game, except there aren’t Hooters billboards everywhere.

And with that we welcome you to the CAA After Dark blog, where the humor is always edgy. Feel free to leave your comments and questions in the box below.

The first game tonight is No. 7 Delaware vs. No. 10 Drexel. Both teams were able to conduct a full warm-up because of the time between games. The Drexel students are here, and they’re chanting at the other side: “Where are your fans?”

Should be a good one. Let’s get it started.

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 5:05 PM

Time for us to rest our typing fingers as we prepare for the evening games. We’ll be back in an hour with Delaware vs. Drexel.

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 4:46 PM

A thrilling conclusion as David Schneider hits a game-winning buzzer beater to get revenge on Georgia State. The Panthers did the same thing to eliminate the Tribe in 2007. Even the Old Dominion players who seemed more engrossed in their music than the game took off their headphones and nodded in approval at the conclusion. From the interview room, here are the postgame comments:

imageWilliam and Mary:

Coach Tony Shaver: The basketball gods smiled back at us today. The one thing we did really well today was continue to battle. I thought we were pretty doggone good defensively. We weren’t great at rebounding, but we kept battling.

I’ll tell you one thing: we wanted the ball in David Schneider’s hands. I’ve said it before, but I’ll take 15 David Schneider’s and play the world. I’d also like a little size, though.

The last three weeks I think we’ve been saving up all our shots for this weekend. I think that will to win was displayed down the stretch.

Guard David Schneider: I kept re-thinking about the shot last year that beat us. The coaches said to try to take it to the rim if you can, but I felt like the three was going to be there, so I took it.

Coach drew a great play out of the timeout. I was going to come off of a screen in the middle.

I definitely feel that as a team, we have more of a will to win last year. We’re known as the comeback kids, as we showed tonight. Also, we have great leadership. I think as a team we’re really coming together.

Forward Danny Sumner: I always thought we were in the game and we had a chance. We hit a great shot at the end.

Georgia State:

Coach Rod Barnes: It was a game that went back and forth. I thought for the most part we were playing better than they were. We just put them on the free-throw line too many times. You just can’t come win tournaments with unforced turnovers and too many free throws. It’s unfortunate for our guys to get to this point and feel like we’re playing as good as we have been and then the season ends.

It’s disappointing today, but I’m proud of how our kids played.

We tried to pick them up full-court, and that’s how you play them. The kid pulled up and made a great shot. We didn’t want to foul because we thought that anything would go against us.

Guard Leonard Barnes: It’s tough because we played hard and it came down to the last shot. Give them credit for playing hard and coming out with the win.

It’s tough. We played hard throughout the game and we just fell short at the end.

Center Deven Dickerson I just went out there and told myself to play hard every play, be mean. That’s what I went out and did. As a team we played hard, and it just didn’t happen.

It was satisfying to go out there and play hard, because that’s been a struggle this past year.

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 3:43 PM

Final: William and Mary 58, Georgia State 57 Revenge for the Tribe! Down two, David Schneider hits a fadeaway three pointer with 1.7 seconds left to steal victory from the Panthers, who led from the first timeout. Postgame reactions shortly.

7.9 Georgia State leads 56-55 Michael Moynihan takes the inbounds pass and the Tribe tries to trap him. Moynihan gets the ball out and Leonard Mendez has two free throws. He misses the first, William and Mary takes its last timeout.

14.9 Georgia State leads 56-55 The Panthers can’t get the ball inbounded and call their final timeout. If the Tribe holds again, they’ll get the ball under their own basket. Never any shortage of dramatics when these teams play in the postseason.

14.9 Georgia State leads 56-55 Trae Goldston hits both free throws. William and Mary needs a 3-pointer to tie. Instead David Schneider takes an easy layup and calls timeout. We’ll see how quickly the Tribe can get a foul - or even if they can force a five-second violation on the inbounds. Both teams have one timeout remaining.

26.2 Georgia State leads 55-53 The Tribe applies a foul, Trae Goldston is going to the line for two shots. He makes the first with a timeout before the second.

27.6 Georgia State leads 54-53 A long three for David Schneider cuts the Tribe lead to one point. Last year the Tribe got burned with a buzzer-beater from the Panthers. Georgia State has the ball, an 8 second differential between game and shot clock.

1:02 Georgia State leads 54-50 Deven Dickerson, a Richmond native, makes both free throws. The teams trade baskets, though Georgia State scored just seconds into its possession, failing to run any clock. It’s Panther ball on the inbounds.

1:40 Georgia State leads 51-48 Danny Sumner misses again on the Tribe’s possession, watching the law of averages kick in at a bad time. Both teams have plenty of time outs, and Georgia State decides to talk strategy with Deven Dickerson about to shoot his second free throw.

1:50 Georgia State leads 50-48 After a pair of W&M free throws, Georgia State runs the full shot clock, misses the shot and gets a rebound. The Panthers tick about 20 seconds more away before an errant out-of-bounds pass.

It’s an opening for the Tribe, and Danny Sumner gets fouled while shooting. He’s the hottest player on the court, but only hits one of two. Just like last year, we’ll have a thrilling conclusion.

3:22 Georgia State leads 50-45 The media timeout kicks in, creating two full timeouts in a row. This favors Georgia State, which wants to rest its best players for the stretch run.

3:49 Georgia State leads 50-45 William and Mary gets a turnover and Danny Sumner finishes the play. The sophomore has kept his poise in the second half and is the Tribe’s best offensive player right now. Georgia State fast-breaked back and picked up a quick two points to keep the lead at arms-reach.

5:04 Georgia State leads 48-41 Just when you think the Panthers won’t do anything offensively, Michael Moynihan comes up with a big basket and a foul as the shot clock winds down. On the next possession, the team continued what is becoming a tradition of not setting any picks. Predictably, nobody was open. Moynihan flung up a three as the shot clock ticked, but Justin Billingslea got the rebound and got fouled. Georgia State keeps rolling.

8:05, Georgia State leads 43-38 Georgia State has moved to a zone defense, slowing the game down even further. But the Tribe can’t take advantage. Guard Nathan Mann just picked up his third four, but this late in the game it won’t be a huge factor.

11:57, Georgia State leads 38-34 The Panthers are playing with a lot of heart. Guard Michael Moynihan took a 3-pointer, then was under the basket fighting for the rebound, so no lack of hustle from Georgia State. It’s a low-scoring game, but not one lacking in drama. The Tribe should find the slow pace favorable in the final minutes.

15:39, Georgia State leads 33-31 The No. 12 seed is holding its own against the No. 5, but with the Tribe regaining its shooting touch, we should be in for a good finish.

17:20, Georgia State leads 33-28 The winner of this game gets Old Dominion. Currently the entire Monarchs team is sitting behind the Georgia State basket. About 50 percent of them have ipods, the rest are watching in a very relaxed manner. Either team should provide a tough game for the Monarchs tomorrow.

Halftime stats: Georgia State’s Leonard Mendez has 11 points, William and Mary is led by Danny Sumner’s 8. The Panthers outrebounded the Tribe 22-14, though they had 7 turnovers to the Tribe’s 3.

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Vic Dorr
March 07, 2008 3:42 PM

Thoughts on Virginia women’s college basketball

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 3:24 PM

At halftime, Georgia State leads 31-25 over William and Mary. What started out promising for the Tribe has turned into an exercise in frustration as they’ve been unable to get the ball inside or pick up rebounds. Georgia State has failed to capitalize offensively, so this should be a very competitive second half.

As to the halftime festivities, there’s no mascot for the Tribe, so this will be a pretty one-sided mascot competition.

image
“Pounce" the Georgia State Panther:

Pros:
-At Georgia State, “more cowbell” not just a motto, it’s a way of life.
-Probably gets all the Vault he can drink.
-Number one in your program, number one in your heart.

Cons:
-Lions, Tigers, and Panthers. Oh, my, it’s not been a very original mascot day.
-Yellow eyes are more than a little creepy, probably the result of too much Vault.
-If there’s ever a mascot version of the Mitchell Report, Pounce will be on it.






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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 2:44 PM

2:19, Georgia State leads 29-21 David Schneider hits a three for the Tribe to make it a four-point game. but the Panthers are playing airtight defense and shut down the Tribe on nearly every possession. With Leonard Mendez resting, the Georgia State offense falls into a funk, but they’re more than compensating on the other end of the court.

7:36, Georgia State leads 23-16 Leonard Mendez can’t miss. The junior guard has 11 points and the Panthers have taken charge. William and Mary looks more oriented on offense now, we’ll see if the Tribe can even things up by halftime.

11:01, Georgia State leads 13-6 Georgia State got the wake-up call a few minutes late. They go on an 11-0 run that announces they won’t go easily. William and Mary is struggling to get the ball to its forwards. The Tribe finally gets a wide-open three, and misses. They’re ice cold right now.

15:59, William and Mary leads 6-4 Early returns indicate the Tribe isn’t going to go down early this year. If they win, they’ll get a peninsula showdown with Old Dominion tomorrow afternoon. (Peninsula punchout? That’s a tough one to alliterate.)

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 2:29 PM

Shifting our attention to other basketball, we take a look at the teams in game two. William and Mary lost to Georgia State last year in the opening round, and though the Tribe is the top seed playing today, this is no cakewalk for them. There is also no cakewalk for the fans, who are making their own entertainment between games.

No. 5 William and Mary Tribe (10-8 CAA, 14-15)
Location/Enrollment: Williamsburg, Virginia/7,709
Last time out: Lost to VCU 54-43
Watch out for: The revenge factor. Georgia State won 60-58 on a last-second shot in the 2007 tournament.
Most foreign player: Nils-Paul Skara is from Kolsas, Norway
Most local (to Richmond) player: Forward Danny Sumner is from Fredericksburg, Virginia
Relevant: Coach Tony Shaver is the 2008 CAA coach of the year
Irrelevant: The college is the oldest of any in the CAA (established in 1693)

No. 12 Georgia State Panthers (5-13 CAA, 5-13)
Location/Enrollment: Atlanta/27,000
Last time out: Lost at James Madison 70-60
Watch out for: Leonard Mendez scored 16.1 points per game this season and became the first All-CAA player in Georgia State history.
Most foreign player: Aside from one player, the entire team is from Georgia.
Most local (to Richmond) player: Senior center Deven Dickerson is from Richmond.
Relevant: Georgia State is second in the CAA in three-point percentage.
Irrelevant: Atlanta is home to Coca-Cola, which made $5 billion in profit last year.

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Michael Phillips
March 07, 2008 2:12 PM

The Towson Tigers advance to face VCU in tomorrow’s quarterfinals. Towson was led by John Thornton with 22 points, Tony Durant had 20, and CC Williams had 14. Both Williams and Durant played the final minutes with four fouls.

Hofstra star Antoine Agudio had 27 points, but they came mostly in the second half, too late to help the Pride, which dug itself a large hole early. The Pride was 0 for 7 shooting 3-pointers in the first half, and just 4 of 29 from the field.

Postgame reaction (will update as coaches and athletes enter interview room):

Towson:

Coach Pat Kennedy: I thought we did a tremendous job on the defensive end. Hofstra is one of the more improved teams in the league. Our zone scheme hurt us the first time, and it’s working well for us now. We’re had a lot of success when we play well.

Tomorrow we’ll have to be as aggressive if not more. We can’t have any bad possessions against VCU’s pressure. Their pressure is the reason for their success, you have to fight it in the backcourt, then the halfcourt and again underneath the basket. You have to beat the pressure each of those times.

[On C.C Williams] I was able to put him back in there knowing he wouldn’t get his fifth foul. A year ago that wasn’t true. C.C. is great at the back of that zone, creating steals. We’ve always been a good pressing team, but we only do it in halfcourt because we’re lacking players.

[C.C.’s award potential] I’m not a big awards guy. To me it’s all about the team. But on the ball, one-on-one, he’s a terrific player.

[On preparing for VCU] They’ve had the chance to see us today. We can only go back to the tapes we have. They’re a guard-oriented team. I love Sanders, but if we take it at him I think we can be successful. We’ll be very loose, I guarantee you that. We’ll be ready to play.

We played pretty well against VCU for 20 minutes, but then at the end of the first half we had three turnovers and they scored on each one. That pressure is non-stop. You have to be so aggressive to be able to beat it.

Guard Josh Thornton: When I transferred in [from Georgetown], I knew this would be a tough conference. You can’t take any game easy.

We came out in the first half with a lot of intensity. I think initially in the second half we came out a little sluggish, but we had to make sure we kept a steady pace with the defense.

I think this gave us a lot of confidence. We know we can play a lot better than our record shows. I think it was good for us to come in here and play with the intensity that we did.

Forward Tony Durant: This is a great league, and there’s a lot of great teams. So coach told us we’d have to work hard from the beginning of the year if we wanted to win in the tournament.

I’m glad we got the win for my teammates and coach. We’re just playing for the tournament right now, we’re not worried about the stats or anything else.

I’ve been trying to work on my speed going to the basket and drawing fouls or making shots.. Coach tells me I’m one of the best post players in the league, but I have to be able to go to the basket.

Hofstra:

Coach Tom Pecora: Antoine [Agudio] is not going to join us. He just finished the last game of his collegiate career and he’s a little upset.

Obviously from the get-go we dug ourself a huge hole. I felt we didn’t have a lot of leadership in the first half.

We were a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde team. We were very well prepared coming in I felt, but we never know if certain players are going to show up. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We’ve got some talented players coming in and I’m going to hit the recruiting trail to fill the gaps.

It was a boneheaded decision getting that intentional foul, and that killed a lot of our momentum. I wasn’t comfortable going to the bench late because our bench was very consistent in the first half.

[At halftime] I used a few words you can’t use here. But nothing too much. I wanted to go in and start screaming at guys, but if you need to do that in the CAA Tournament, then this is beyond them getting fired up. I’m tired of hearing my own voice. It’s March. I want to be out there coaching them, not rah-rahing.

[Agudio] He’s had a few games like that this year. He’s a leader and wants to take over the game, but he missed some tough shots. He’s had some of those games this year in our tougher losses.

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