In a game in which seniors Laimis Kisielius and Nathan Mann had a hard time finding the basket, sophomores David Schneider and Danny Sumner were there to pick them up and lead the team to a comeback 58-57 victory over Georgia State.
The sophomore duo combined for 37 of the Tribe’s 58 points, as Schneider’s 20 points and Sumner’s 17 keyed the College’s victory. With Kisielius and Mann netting just 11 points on 3 of 17 shooting, Schneider and Sumner kept the Tribe in the game. Both played 38 minutes, including a 20-minute effort from Sumner in the second half. Moreover, the two scored 23 of the Tribe’s 33 second-half points, and Schneider poured in the College’s last eight.
The twosome simply gave the Tribe the answer to its shooting-slump – at least for today.
With the College trailing by as many as seven in the second half, Sumner converted an array of shots to keep the Tribe within striking distance. A jumper, fast break dunk, some free throws and reverse-layup steadied the College, allowing the Tribe to continually trim the deficit. After his final point on the front-end of a one-and-one, Sumner assisted on Mann’s lone basket of the second half that put the College four points down with 1:04 left. Then, Sumner and his teammates watched Schneider take over.
Schneider’s first opportunity came after Georgia State’s D.J. Jones committed a backcourt violation, giving the Tribe the ball with 56 seconds remaining. Ten seconds later, Schneider drained a trey to cut the deficit to one. Next, Schneider delivered with a baseline runner, driving from the right wing and skying his shot over incoming Panther defenders to push the Tribe to within one with 16 seconds left. And finally, after Head Coach Tony Shaver drew up a final play with Schneider in mind, he sunk a three-pointer off a screen from junior Peter Stein, as last year’s buzzer-beating opponent Leonard Mendez sailed past him and Trae Goldston sliced in for an attempt at a steal.
“On the last play, we wanted the ball in David Schneider’s hands, I’ll tell you that,” Shaver said. “There’s not many things in life you can count on, but one of them is David Schneider’s effort.
“I’ve said it before, but I’ll take 15 David Schneiders and I’ll play the world.”
Schneider finished the game six of eight from three-point range; he contributed all six of the Tribe’s treys for the day. Schneider also gave the College a little revenge, after last year’s last second loss to the Panthers.
Most important for the Tribe, however, Schneider and Sumner picked the team up and carried it to victory.
