Final – Tribe 50, ODU 62
The Tribe could not respond to the ODU run. The College has lost three straight CAA games to open conference play. All three defeats have been by double-digits.
2:11 2nd Half – Tribe 45, ODU 55
McCurdy scores five straight points to bring the Tribe to within 10. Can the Tribe force a few more ODU turnovers?
7:22 2nd Half – Tribe 40, ODU 46
Tribe gets a stop, but Schneider’s forced fall-away from the top of the key goes begging and Smith gets called for a foul contesting the rebound. The College needs to get better looks at the basket.
8:01 2nd Half – Tribe 40, ODU 46
Blaine Taylor calls a timeout after Sumner connects on his first field goal of the game. It’s a three-pointer and it brings the Tribe to within six points. The Tribe desperately needs Sumner to contribute.
9:12 2nd Half – Tribe 35, ODU 46
This one is slipping away from the Tribe. Shaver calls a 30-second timeout to regroup.
11:19 2nd Half – Tribe 35, ODU 41
Tribe cut the deficit to three at 38-35 before Carter hit his fifth trey of the game. He’s perfect from beyond the arc and he’s killing the Tribe.
ODU guard Marshanee Neely gave the Tribe fans something to cheer and laugh at when his he lost the ball on the way up for a dunk and he pinned the ball against the rim. It got better for the College when Neely landed on the baseline with the ball. Tribe ball for a big possession.
15:58 2nd Half – Tribe 28, ODU 34
Schneider hits his fourth three-pointer of the game. Someone else has to start scoring in order for the Tribe to have a chance.
16:56 2nd Half – Tribe 25, ODU 32
ODU starts the second half on a quick 9-2 to take control. Carter continues to beat the Tribe from beyond the arc.
First-half Analysis
Danny Sumner continues to be a non-factor in 2009. He is 0-4 from the field.
McCurdy has shown flashes of his speed on his drives to the basket. He’s connected on three of his four shot attempts.
Smith continues to battle in the post. His statline shows just two points and one rebound though. The Tribe needs more production out of him and Stein (zero points) in this game.
Halftime Stats
The Tribe is shooting 39.1 percent from the field and 37.5 percent from beyond the arc. Schneider leads the Tribe with 11 points, while McCurdy has six points.
Sumner is 0-4 from the field in 15 minutes of action.
The Tribe forced 12 ODU turnovers in the first half, but committed nine of its own, which proved costly as the half came to a close.
For the Monarchs, Carter, who is perfect from three-point range, has nine points. Three-point specialist Iliadis had six points.
Halftime – Tribe 23, ODU 23
Tribe gets sloppy in the final minutes of the first half and allows ODU to back in the game. Four turnovers – three by McCurdy – gave the Monarchs extra possessions and they capitalized on the opportunities, turning a six-point deficit into a tie at the break.
A couple of attempted rebound saves by McCurdy as he fell out of bounds led to Trian Iliadis’s second three-pointer of the half, which tied the game at 23.
3:24 1st Half – Tribe 23, ODU 17
ODU’s Keyon Carter hits back-to-back three-pointers to energize the Monarchs. McDowell continues to show his ability to play down low even though he’s undersized. He finishes a layup under the basket after receiving a great lob pass from McCurdy.
Tribe needs to keep the intensity up in order to head into the locker room ahead.
6:49 1st Half – Tribe 19, ODU 11
The Tribe backcourt is coming up big so far against ODU. McCurdy has three successful drives to the basket, while Schneider is peppering the Monarchs with a barrage of first-half three-pointers. Schneider is three of five from beyond the arc.
The College has forced 10 ODU turnovers in just over 13 minutes of play. Head Coach Tony Shaver has to pleased with that number.
7:03 1st Half – Tribe 19, ODU 11
Schneider has ignited the Tribe, forcing ODU Head Coach Blaine Taylor to call a 30-second timeout. Schneider has eight of the Tribe’s last 10 points.
11:18 1st Half – Tribe 9, ODU 9
McCurdy hits a tough hanging layup in the lane over 6’10” Gerald Lee and McDowell converts on the fast break on a nice pass from Matt McFadden. Tribe needs to limit its turnovers – already four on the night.
14:46 1st Half – Tribe 5, ODU 2
Slow start for both team’s offensively so far. The two team’s are a combined three of 13 from the field. The pace is to the Tribe’s liking so far as both team’s are settling into their half-court sets.
ODU is already controlling the boards with a plus-five margin. The Tribe will have to close that gap.
7:00 p.m. – Starters Introduced
Questions for the game:
Will Danny Sumner return to pre-Harvard form when he averaged nearly 20 points per game?
Can Alex Smith continue to provide valuable minutes and points in the paint?
Can a hopefully fully healthy Sean McCurdy lead the offense and take some pressure off Schneider?
6:53 p.m. – Tonight’s Starters
The Tribe starts David Schneider, Danny Sumner, Alex Smith, Peter Stein and Sean McCurdy. Smith, who is playing in his third game of the season, starts in the place of Darnell. Smith is averaging 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game since returning to action.
ODU starts Gerald Lee, Frank Hassell, Ben Finney, Darius James and Kent Bazemore.
6:50 p.m. – Tribe takes the court
To my surprise, the College’s Pep Band is in attendance as well as a handful of cheerleaders. The Tribe will need some home-court support tonight because ODU always travels well.
6:48 p.m. – Injury Update
The Tribe will be without senior forward Chris Darnell, who is out with a foot injury sustained at Northeastern Saturday. Darnell, who has started 11 of the College’s 12 games, averages 5.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Look for freshman Quinn McDowell to receive even more minutes in place of the injured Darnell.
