No late-game heroics were necessary Monday.

Playing for the fourth-straight day, the Tribe ran out of steam in its first-ever CAA championship game appearance, falling 68-59 to George Mason University.

The loss dropped the College to 17-16 — its first winning record since the 1997-1998 season. Meanwhile, Mason’s win earned the Patriots (23-10) an automatic invite to the NCAA Tournament.

“I thought down to the very end we weren’t real good today,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “I’ll credit them with that. [They’re] tough to score on [and] tough to stop.”

The Tribe started coldly Monday, hitting four of its first 12 shots and only one of seven three-pointers. With the College struggling early, the Patriots built an early lead and pushed it to eight three times in the first half. After leading 19-11, the Patriots traded baskets with the Tribe before an 11-4 College run cut the lead to one at 25-24 with 3:23 remaining.

During the run, senior forward Laimis Kisielius hit two treys, while sophomore guard David Schneider sank one of his own and senior guard Nathan Mann buried a jumper from just inside the arc. The Tribe’s spurt forced Mason Head Coach Jim Larranaga to use a 30-second timeout and electrified the College’s fans.

Following the timeout, Patriot guard John Vaughan committed a turnover, but the College failed to answer on the other end, as Kisielius misfired on a three-pointer and Mason guard Cam Long rejected sophomore forward Danny Sumner’s lay-up. However, another Vaughan turnover gave the Tribe the final shot of the half and Kisielius sank a fall-away baseline jumper as time expired to send the College into the locker room down 27-26.

Any momentum Kisielius gave his team faded quickly after halftime, as the Patriots started hot, scoring the half’s first nine points and finishing an 11-2 run that put Mason ahead 38-28 just over four minutes into the second half. For the next 11 minutes, the Patriots controlled the game, answering nearly every Tribe basket and maintaining its working margin.

After Mason forward Will Thomas scored on a lay-in with 4:44 remaining, Kisielius connected on his final three-pointer of the game, cutting the deficit to seven at 54-47 and giving the Tribe another shot in the arm. A missed jumper by tournament MVP Folarin Campbell gave the College another opportunity to chip away at the Mason lead, but Schneider’s runner in the lane missed everything and the Tribe failed to score for three minutes down the stretch, securing the Patriots its first CAA title since 2001.

“When we’ve been good – really good as a ballclub – we’ve had three, four or five guys in double figures and we really couldn’t get others going tonight,” Shaver said. “No one guy can carry our team.”

Mason seniors Thomas and Campbell kept the Patriots ahead with free throws in the game’s final minutes, derailing any Tribe hopes of another last-second miracle.

Kisielius finished with a game-high 22 points, while Schneider and Sumner contributed 12 and 10 points respectively. Each earned a spot on the All-Tournament team, joining Mason’s Thomas and Virginia Commonwealth University’s Eric Maynor.

Campbell led the Patriots with 20 points, and Thomas provided 18 points to go along with 13 rebounds.

In its first-ever appearance in the CAA Tournament Championship game, the Tribe fell short, losing 68-59 to George Mason University tonight at the Richmond Coliseum.

p. Trailing by only one point, 27-26, coming out of halftime, the Tribe struggled to get anything going in the second, clearly showing signs of fatigue after having to play four tournament games in as many days. The Patriots went on an 11-2 run to start the second half and never looked back, fending off all comeback attempts by the Tribe.

p. Senior forward Laimus Kisielius did his best to keep the Tribe in the game, scoring 22 points to go along with five rebounds and three assists. None of his teammates were able to come close to his production, however, and Mason made enough big plays to maintain its lead throughout the second half.

p. The loss dropped the Tribe’s overall season record to 17-16. Kisielius was named to the All-Tournament team along with sophomore teammates David Schneider and Danny Sumner, VCU guard Eric Maynor and Mason forward Will Thomas. Patriots’ guard Folarin Campbell, who led GMU with 20 points against the Tribe, was named tournament MVP.

GAME OVER – Mason 68, Tribe 59

The Tribe put up a good fight in this one. This was certainly not the team’s best performance, but its not hard to see how they’d have trouble scoring while dealing with the fatigue of three last-second victories in three days. If they make a few more of their shots and get a few more lucky breaks the way they did in the first three rounds, then this one goes down to the wire. Mason did everything they had to do in order to win this game, and unlike VCU, they didn’t take their lower-seeded opponents lightly. They’ll be a tough out in the NCAA Tournament, that’s for sure.

The magnitude of the Tribe’s making it to this point can’t be understated. For a program with as much of a losing history as it has, this is a giant leap forward. The team owes a lot to its Head Coach and senior class.

— JD

Mason 58, Tribe 48 – 1:15 Second Half

It looks like the Tribe just didn’t have enough left in the tank for this one. GMU is firmly in control.

— JD

Mason 54, Tribe 47 – 3:05 Second Half

Schneider missed a real opportunity there. It looked like he would have had Sumner for an easy bucket if he’d dished it off there. It’s borderline desperation mode at this point for the Tribe, especially if Campbell hits these free throws.

— JD

Mason 50, Tribe 42 – 7:20 Second Half

GMU is really locking down Kisielius, so Shaver should look to draw up some kick-outs for Schneider, Mann and Sumner to try to continue to chip away at this lead. They’re in striking range now, and this might be their best shot to make a run.

— JD

Mason 50, Tribe 42 – 8:19 Second Half

The Tribe isn’t going away yet. If they can lock it down on defense they’ve got a shot.

— JD

Mason 48, Tribe 37 – 10:21 Second Half

More than anything else right now, the Tribe needs stops on the defensive end. Somehow, Chris Fleming who averages something like one point a game is killing them in the post. On offense, they really need Sumner right now. Kisielius is the only one scoring. Mason’s band is playing “Don’t Stop Believin.'” The message is more appropriate for the Tribe at this point.

— JD

Mason 48, Tribe 35 – 11:31 Second Half

The Tribe needs to get something going here, or this one is going to continue to slip away. GMU has six team fouls, so if the Tribe can continue to draw some they’ll be at the line a good amount.

— JD

Mason 38, Tribe 28 – 15:56 Second Half

GMU is now on an 11-2 run to start the second half. The Tribe is going to have to weather this and get some quick baskets here or run the risk of letting this one get out of hand. They need to run some isolation plays for Sumner to get him involved. He’s been their most consistent offensive presence throughout this tournament and they aren’t winning this game without getting points from him.

— JD

Mason 31, Tribe 26 – 18:30 Second Half

A couple of questionable calls there. On the turnover it looked as though it was clearly knocked out of Mann’s hands by Mason. The foul call on Vaughan before that was pretty unfounded as well. Let’s see what Shaver comes up with out of this timeout to settle his team.

— JD

HALFTIME STATS

Field goals

Tribe — 10 of 27 (37 percent)
GMU — 13 of 27 (48.1 percent)

3-pt field goals

Tribe — 4 of 15 (26.7 percent)
GMU — 1 of 8 (12.5 percent)

Turnovers

Tribe — 5
GMU — 7

Rebounds

Tribe — 15
GMU — 18

Leading Scorers

Tribe — Kisielius 15, Schneider 3
GMU — Birdsong 6, Thomas 6

— JD

HALFTIME – Mason 27, Tribe 26

We’ve got a ballgame on our hands. The Tribe has to be feeling good about being only down one at this point, given that nobody besides Kisielius is shooting well. On the other end, there’s no way Mason doesn’t start scoring more in the second, particularly Folarin Campbell, who’s been relatively cold to this point. The Tribe needs to be weary of Birdsong in the post, but it looks like the Tribe’s defense has tightened up as the game has progressed. I’ll tell you what, though, this crowd is electric for both sides. The second half promises to be a good one.

— JD

Mason 25, Tribe 24 – 2:57 First Half

Coach Larranaga does not look pleased right now after that traveling call. Kisielius has 13 points already, and the Tribe is doing a much better job on the boards than it was at the beginning of the game. Not having Birdsong in there for GMU certainly helps.

— JD

Mason 25, Tribe 24 – 3:21 First Half

The roof’s about ready to blow off this place. Mann needs to keep looking for his shot inside the three-point line. Kisielius is on fire right now.

— JD

Mason 19, Tribe 11 – 7:55 First Half

Kisielius is locked in right now. He looks incredibly focused and hasn’t missed a shot yet. Mann just missed a wide-open look from the wing, something that can’t happen if the Tribe is going to win this game. Mason seems to be having ease getting to the bucket at this point. As it has in earlier games this tournament, the Tribe is going to have to weather this early storm and hope it hits shots in the second.

— JD

Mason 12, Tribe 7 – 11:43 First Half

Birdsong just picked up his second foul for Mason, which is big considering he’s been doing well so far in the low post. The Tribe is out of sorts offensively. They’re going to need to look for ways to get Kisielius and Sumner matched up one on one vs. their defenders. The Tribe also needs to cut down its turnovers, as it has three already to Mason’s zero.

— JD

Mason 8, Tribe 3 – 15:32 First Half

Not a great start for the Tribe. The noise is deafening down here at the end of the court where the Tribe is shooting, right in front of the Mason student section. It’s hard to tell from here if the College’s section is giving them GMU the same treatment at the other end. They should try to look for shots earlier in their possessions to avoid shot clock violations.

— JD

PREGAME EVENTS

The fife and drum corps from Williamsburg just performed the National Anthem. Congressman Tom Davis of Northern Virginia is seated directly across from us. This is a real star-studded affair. Under five minutes until tip off.

–JD

PREGAME WARM-UPS

The Tribe just ran back into the locker room following its pre-game shoot-around. The College’s pep band has made its first appearance of the tournament tonight. Mason’s band is heckling it from the other end of the floor.

Mason just made its way onto the floor to the loud support of its fans, band and dance team. It’s hard not to feel as though they’re a little more used to this than we are. But that’s because they are.

Several prominent members of the national and regional media have made it out tonight. Brad Nessler and Jimmy Dykes are seated about 10 seats down from us, calling the game for ESPN. Reporters from the New York Times, Washington Post are all on the media list, along with the usual suspects from the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Daily Press and Virginia Pilot. John Feinstein is in attendance for the second consecutive night.

The Tribe has re-emerged from the locker room, with the College’s student section raucously cheering them on. The school arranged for a bus to carry some of the 500 students who got tickets this morning to the Coliseum. It’s hard to gauge who is winning the fan support battle at this point given that both schools’ colors are the same.

The intensity level is picking up here in the arena. Chuck Wolf, the College’s PA announcer, is serving as announcer for the evening. Just 20 minutes until opening tip. We’ll be blogging for you at every timeout, live from the Richmond Coliseum for the CAA Tournament Championship game.

— Jeff Dooley

p. I’ve read and re-read this following sentence a number of times now, making sure of its accuracy, because I know that it may come as a shock to many who read it.

p. The Tribe is one win away from making the NCAA Tournament.

p. It’s been an improbable run to say the least, considering the Tribe’s less-than-stellar basketball history. And through the first 35 minutes or so of the team’s first round game against Georgia State, the Tribe was playing the way so many of its detractors over the years would expect: not making big shots, allowing its opponents to dominate in the paint and certainly not proving itself worthy of its no. 5 seed. But it appears that with his crucial buckets down the stretch and subsequent game-winning three-pointer, sophomore guard David Schneider shook off decades’ worth of the losing streaks, bad bounces and basketball demons that have dogged the Tribe men’s basketball program for years.

p. In the two games since the opening round, the Tribe has played outstanding basketball. They picked off an Old Dominion squad that was talented enough and deep enough to run the table, and backed up that performance with a grind-it-out upset win over regular-season CAA champs VCU, a team that upset Duke in last year’s NCAA Tourney and has a good shot at earning an at-large berth this year.

p. And in all three tournament games, the finishes couldn’t have been more exciting. All three have come down to game-winning shots within the final 10 seconds of the game. All three have required critical defensive stops in the games’ final moments, as well as key made baskets down the stretch.

p. “I think [the Tribe is] a talented enough team to win a championship,” VCU Head Coach Anthony Grant said. Grant knows a thing or two about CAA championship teams, having coached the Rams to a tournament title last year.

p. One of the Tribe’s players who has been most impressive is senior forward Laimis Kisielius. After putting out a sub-par offensive performance against Georgia State, he carried the Tribe down the stretch against ODU, hitting big shot after big shot before classmate Nathan Mann made the game-winning trey. He followed that up by pouring in a game-high 23 points against VCU, including the game winner.

p. Sophomore forward Danny Sumner (who, in my opinion, is the Tribe’s tourney MVP through three games) has been the team’s most consistent offensive presence, averaging 17.3 points per game and regularly keeping the College in the game by hitting big shots.

p. The finals tonight against George Mason may be the Tribe’s biggest challenge yet, as they’ll be going up a team led by seniors Folarin Campbell and Will Thomas, who gained valuable postseason experience during the team’s Cinderella run to the 2006 Final Four. The Tribe will also have to deal with the fatigue of playing its fourth game in as many days, with the first three going right down to the very last second.

p. However, anyone who’s witnessed the Tribe these past three games knows that it’d be foolish to count the team out of any game at this point. The way they play defense and the way they are capable of shooting gives them a shot against any team. And certainly any team that can overtake the conference’s best team in its home town in front of a raucous crowd can take on anyone.

p. “We’re confident – no question about that,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “What [the team has] accomplished in the last three days is amazing to me as a coach of this club. We feel when we get to this point that we can win it all. I told the team in the locker room and they need to know: enjoy this moment. But we need to know that we’re good enough to win tomorrow.”

p. It’s about time we all started believing in that.

__E-mail Jeff Dooley at jadool@wm.edu.__

p. RICHMOND, Va. – For the third straight day, the Tribe needed a last-second basket to win.

For the third straight game, the College got it, as the Tribe defeated Virginia Commonwealth University 56-54 in the semifinals of the CAA tournament, putting the Tribe just one win away from an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.

“I think the neat part for me is it’s been three different guys in the tournament and that’s what we’ve done all year long,” Shaver said.

With 23.2 seconds remaining, Head Coach Tony Shaver called a 30-second timeout, setting the stage for the Tribe’s final possession. Once again, Shaver put the ball in the hands of a senior. Today, senior forward Laimis Kisielius produced the game-winner on a leaner that he kissed off the glass and sent home with three seconds left.

Rams Head Coach Anthony Grant instructed his team to setup, so that Michael Anderson could send length-of-the-court pass to Larry Sanders near the foul line. Tribe sophomore forward Danny Sumner harassed Anderson as he launched his pass that found Sanders, but more toward the corner by the baseline than intended. Sanders quickly found Brandon Rozzell for a last-ditch attempt from the beyond the arc that fell short, sending the College to its first-ever CAA title game.

“Just an amazing win for our club. I don’t know what else to say,” Shaver said. “I think to beat VCU, who has proven over the last three months they’re the best team in this league, [and] to beat them in Richmond is quite an accomplishment in my opinion.”

Kisielius’s basket with three seconds left increased his scoring total on the day to a game-high 23 points. In the second half alone, Kisielius had 15 points, as he and sophomore forward Danny Sumner carried the Tribe down the stretch.

With the College trailing 43-39 at the 9:10 mark, Shaver used his first timeout of the second half and sent senior guard Nathan Mann back onto the floor, after sitting on the bench for over seven minutes with four fouls. Although Mann did not score down the stretch, he gave the Tribe another ball-handler to help break VCU’s constant full-court pressure, allowing Kisielius and Sumner to operate in the half court.

The duo combined for the Tribe’s final 17 points, including 12 straight during the College’s 12-0 run that pushed the Tribe to its largest lead of the game of eight at 51-43. Sumner sandwiched Kisielius’s two treys with three-point plays, drawing fouls on VCU guard Jamal Shuler each time. His first basket came after posting up Shuler, while his second came after blowing by Shuler down the baseline for a layup.

“He’s been sensational,” Shaver said. “It’s hard to imagine a sophomore playing as well as he has in the last three days.”

After Sumner drove past Shuler for an old-fashioned three-point play, the Tribe went scoreless for 5:56, allowing the Rams to knot the game at 51-51 when guard Eric Maynor buried a three-pointer.

“It wouldn’t be our basketball team right now if we didn’t have a five or six minute stretch without scoring,” Shaver said. “We wouldn’t know how to treat the game if that didn’t happen to us right now.”

Fortunately for the Tribe, Kisielius drained a trey of his own, snapping the College out of its scoreless streak and giving the Tribe a 54-51 lead with 50 seconds left. But Shuler answered with a deep three-pointer of his own that tied the game at 54-54 with 40 seconds left.

Then, Kisielius delivered again, driving toward the basket and banking home the game-winner.

Kisielius’s 23 points gave him his first 20-point performance since erupting for a career-high 26 against Old Dominion Jan. 26.

Meanwhile, Sumner continued his strong tournament play, tallying 19 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists and zero turnovers in 39 minutes.

For the second straight game, Sumner and Kisielius carried the Tribe to victory, combining for 42 of the College’s 56 points.

The College faces George Mason University Monday at 7 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN. Mason defeated the University of North Carolina–Wilmington 53-41 to earn its second-straight trip to the championship game.

POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE

HEAD COACH TONY SHAVER

Opening comments:
Just an amazing win for our club. I don’t know what else to say. Couldn’t be prouder of them. I think to beat VCU who has proven over the last three months they’re the best team in this league. To beat them in Richmond is quite an accomplishment in my opinion. My hats off to these players. They were sensational. The only I’d say that we’re learning as a ballclub is that the little things in the game make a difference in winning and losing. Obviously, Laimis’s shot was big and Danny’s play was big, but I thought Pete Stein’s charges today changed the momentum on several different occasions. I thought Kyle Carrabine came in the ballgame and dove on the floor one time and got us one extra possession and that might’ve been the difference in the ballgame. Just very proud of our team.

On Kisielius’s game-winner:
I think the neat part for me is it’s been three different guys in the tournament and that’s what we’ve done all year long. We had only one player recognized on the All-CAA team. It’s been a team effort from beginning to end really.

On VCU’s two game-tying three-pointers late down the stretch:
[I was thinking] not good things to be honest with you. Shuler’s shot was amazing. They put the ball in the right player’s hands which good coaches and good teams do. I thought they were tremendous there.

The response our guys had. That’s probably the key to winning ballgames like this. You’re going to get hit in the mouth, but I think it’s how you respond that’s really the key and we responded extremely well.

On how the Tribe weathered a 5:56 scoring drought near the game’s end:
I think defense. It wouldn’t be our basketball team right now if we didn’t have a five or six minute stretch without scoring. We wouldn’t know how to treat the game if that didn’t happen to us right now. We learned to persevere. We learned to defend. Just hang in there really.

On whether fatigue will be a factor tomorrow night:
Well fatigue will definitely be a factor for me, but probably not for these guys. They’re young. They’re energetic. We do have some guys who’ve played a lot of minutes, but when you get to the championship of a tournament – particularly one we have so much respect for like the CAA. Adrenaline should carry us. You won’t hear us mention being tired. I’ll tell you that.

On what it means for the program to play for a conference title:
It has been a long road and it’s been a tough five years in some ways. I think we’ve gotten better every year a little bit – especially the last three years. As I told our players before the tournament, all year long we’ve been knocking on the door to be considered one of the elite in this conference and we didn’t earn that right in the regular season. But through that battle we gained enough confidence to feel like we could come here and be successful. I said this two days ago, but I’ll say it again: the main reason we’re where we are today is our senior class. They have taken us to a land we haven’t been in before.

On Danny Sumner’s play:
When we recruited Danny out of high school, we thought he was a special player that would eventually do some of these things for us. I think his freshman year was a typical freshman year. He had to adjust to a lot. He had to adjust to me and college life. I think before Christmas we just felt he had to play. Danny struggled defensively some early in the year, but he’s so good offensively and gives us such a weapon that we don’t have without him. We felt that he could grow on the floor defensively as opposed to listening to me in practice. He’s been sensational. It’s hard to imagine a sophomore playing as well as he has in the last three days.

On his team’s confidence heading into the tournament:
We’re confident – no question about that. What they’ve accomplished in the last three days is amazing to me as a coach of this club. We feel when we get to this point that we can win it all. I told the team in the locker room and they need to know: enjoy this moment. But we need to know that we’re good enough to win tomorrow.

On Laimis’s play at the end of the regular season:
We talked a lot – that’s for sure. He probably talked to me more than he wanted to talk to me during that stretch. They were good conversations. They weren’t critical conversations. Quite honestly, Nathan and Laimis struggled in the last three weeks of our season. Two things for me: 1) we know to be a good basketball team we need them to play well. 2) They’ve done so much for this program [and] had been so loyal to this program that there’s no way [Laimis] is not going to be loyal to them down the stretch.

On what you told the team before the game today after losing twice to VCU:
This really came from my assistants. I listen to those guys a lot and it helps our program. One thing they talked about to me and we addressed the team with this – corny or not. But this reminded us a little bit about the Giants and the Patriots…I felt we played George Mason on the road really tough. We played VCU at home tough. We gained confidence from it and we felt the second time around that that could give us an edge that we could be successful with.

SENIOR FORWARD LAIMIS KISIELIUS

On making the game-winning shot:
We take turns on our team. We had 20 seconds on the last possession. Coach just told us one shot and then called my number on it and it went in.

On the team’s play in the tournament:
I feel like the tournament is sort of like a new season. You start off fresh – zero-zero. You’ve got 40 minutes of basketball to play. We go to the game having nothing to lose. Every game might be my last game or other seniors’ last game. It’s a whole new season. That’s what I think about it.

On breaking out of his late season slump:
It kind of hit me that after the regular season was over that every game might be my last one, so tomorrow might be my last one. It might not be the last one. That’s how I look at it. I really have nothing to lose. I just got to enjoy my teammates, enjoy the game, [and] enjoy the coaching staff. I just try to relax and let the game come to me.

SOPHOMORE FORWARD DANNY SUMNER

On defending CAA Player of the Year Eric Maynor:
He’s conference player of the year and he likes to get to the basket a whole lot, so what I tried to do was keep him out of the lane as much as possible to try to force him to take outside shots. I think we did a good job as a team of staying with it.

On how the last two games carried over to this game:
We had been in the same position the previous two games before this game and I think that prepared us a lot. We knew we were in the same position today. We knew we were gonna come up with something big today. We did a good job of executing what we wanted to execute.

GAME OVER — TRIBE 56, VCU 54

VCU’s last second 3-pointer comes up short. The Tribe is now one game away from the NCAA tournament.

— JD

TRIBE 56, VCU 54 — 2.6 seconds left

Kisielius drives, spins and scores two as the shot clock expires. Timeout.

— JD

TRIBE 54, VCU 54 — 23.2 seconds left in the game

Threes by Kisielius and Shuler got us here. Tribe ball with 20 seconds on the shot clock.

— JD

TRIBE 51, VCU 51 – 1:06 Second Half

Timeout Tribe, it’s their basketball. It’s been 5:38 since they last scored a basket. 27 seconds left on the shot clock.

— JD

TRIBE 51, VCU 51 – 3:19 Second Half

Maynor just hit a three to tie this thing up. Tribe basketball after the timeout.

— JD

TRIBE 51, VCU 46 – 3:51 Second Half

VCU’s going to the line for two shots after the break. Maynor just missed two from the line. All the things that have to happen in order for the Tribe to win are happening. The past two possessions, however, they’ve taken poor three-pointers, and they haven’t scored in nearly three minutes. They’ll need some big buckets down the stretch to hold off the Rams.

— JD

TRIBE 50, VCU 43 – 6:44 Second Half

Another three-pointer by Kisielius. VCU then threw it right into Sumner’s hands on the other end. Sumner put in a lay-up as he was fouled. He’ll shoot the free throw after the break.

— JD

TRIBE 45, VCU 43 – 7:48 Second Half

Sumner recorded a three-point play, followed by a three from the top of the key by Kisielius. VCU can’t get it together on the offensive end. The starting five is back out there on the floor for the Tribe, and they’re likely going to have to bring this one home for them.

— JD

VCU 43, TRIBE 39 – 9:10 Second Half

VCU is putting the pressure on now at both ends. Head Coach Tony Shaver is putting Mann back into the game. They’re going to need him the rest of the way. This is a critical stretch of the game for the Tribe, they have to keep it close here. VCU has the potential to go on a game-clinching run at any point.

— JD

TRIBE 37, VCU 35 – 11:54 Second Half

The Tribe has now gone on a 13-4 run to start the second. Sumner is asserting himself on offense, and on defense the Tribe is doing the things they have to in order to stay in the game. Maynor nailed a deep three to cut into the Rams’ deficit, and it feels as though he’s ready to go off at any time.

— JD

VCU 32, TRIBE 31 — 15:44 Second Half

6-0 Tribe run to open the half. Maynor ends it with two free throws and puts the Rams back up two. It looks as though he can get his shot whenever he wants it. Mann just picked up his fourth personal with 16:47 remaining. Senior guard Kyle Carrabine comes in to replace him. Freshman sharpshooter John Sexton has yet to see playing time. The College could probably use his shooting in Mann’s absence. VCU’s Sanders puts one back. Sumner answers with another three-pointer. Maynor has mishandled two passes in a row, resulting in VCU turnovers.

— JD

HALFTIME STATS

Field goals

Tribe – 9 of 23 (39.1 percent)
VCU – 11 of 27 (40.7 percent)

3-pt field goals

Tribe – 3 of 9 (33.3 percent)
VCU – 3 of 10 (30 percent)

Rebounds

Tribe – 13
VCU – 21

Leading scorers

Tribe – Kisielius 8, Sumner 6, Stein 5
VCU – Shuler 7, Gwynn 6, Maynor 5

–JD

HALFTIME – VCU 28, TRIBE 22

Schneider missed a three-pointer and then Shuler put in two free throws after a breakaway foul the other way. The Tribe have to be content to be this close given the amount of open shots VCU had and that its own offense has failed to catch fire. They’ll need a lights out second half if they want to win this thing, and also hope that Maynor and Shuler, who have been relatively quiet so far, don’t start filling it up. Also important for the Tribe is taking care of the basketball, something the team struggled with in the first.

— JD

VCU 24, TRIBE 22 – 2:12 First Half

Maynor drilled a three, and then Kisielius came back a lay-up to answer. Stein put in one of two free throws. Senior guard Nathan Mann is on the bench with three fouls. Schneider just drilled a three to knot the game at 22-22. Sanders answers with a lay-in on the other end.

— JD

VCU 19, TRIBE 16 – 3:59 First Half

Both teams have gone cold, aside from Sumner hitting a three to keep the Tribe in it, as he’s done the entire tournament. The officiating in this game so far has been suspect at best, most notably just calling an out of bound to VCU after the ball rolled all the way down a VCU player’s leg and out of bounds.

— JD

VCU 19, TRIBE 13 – 7:45 First Half

VCU is starting to click now, going on a 12-2 run, and they did most of it without Shuler and Maynor on the floor. The Tribe is struggling to get any sort of good look at the basket. They’re going to need somebody to step up.

— JD

TRIBE 13, VCU 12 – 11:01 First Half

VCU’s Larry Sanders just slammed one down and was fouled. Jamal Shuler hit an open three before that. The Tribe is going to need to keep close tabs on these two, in addition to Eric Maynor. Kisielius knocked down an open jumper to keep the Tribe up.

— JD

TRIBE 11, VCU 7 – 13:51 First Half

Fast start to this one. Junior forward Peter Stein’s gotten two lay-ups to go down and sophomore forward Danny Sumner drilled a three to electrify the crowd. They’re leaving VCU some open shots on the other end, but so far the Rams have been relatively cold. Sophomore guard David Schneider and Stein have each taken a charge. Senior forward Laimis Kisielius has four points. The Tribe is 5 of 8 from the field at this point. VCU is 3 of 11.

— JD

PRE-GAME WARM-UPS

Both teams are warming up in front of their respective baskets. VCU sure is athletic. The length of some of their players is staggering. They are very loose in their warm-ups. Players are looking more to throw down dunks than to take jump shots. Assistant coaches jokingly push players and kick basketballs away from them. It’s a clear contrast to the business-like routine of the Tribe.

VCU’s band is blasting a version of “Knock on Wood” by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones. The College’s pep band is not in attendance. I’m pretty sure that the Tribe is the only team without one here at the tournament.

So far, the Tribe’s shots are dropping. The team is going to need a similar shooting performance to the one they had in the second half of yesterday’s win over ODU.

The Kaplan Krazies, the four-man group of high school students who are some of the College’s most loyal, die-hard fans, nearly got kicked out of the student section. Fortunately, they’ve been permitted to stay. The Tribe is going to need all the fans they can get, as the Coliseum is already filling up with more than its fair share of VCU faithful.

— Jeff Dooley

KEYS TO THE GAME

1. THE ONE-TWO PUNCH

VCU junior guard Eric Maynor and senior guard Jamal Shuler have picked apart opposing defenses this season, combining to score nearly half of the Rams’ points. The duo, which earned All-CAA first team accolades, totaled 20 points against the Tribe at Kaplan Arena Mar. 1 and 36 points at home in December. If the Tribe relies on man-to-man defense, the two will be unstoppable. Maynor’s game is built on beating his defender off the dribble, while Shuler frees himself for open jump shots. Throwing a mixture of man and zone defense at the two guards should stymie some of the Ram’s offense firepower. However, the Tribe must keep a watchful eye on another dangerous weapon, freshman forward Larry Sanders, the most athletic player on VCU’s roster.

2. SILENCING THE CROWD

Just playing no. 1 seed VCU is a big enough challenge for the Tribe. Facing the Rams blocks away from their campus in the Richmond Coliseum will add another degree of difficulty and intrigue in their quest for a tournament title. Saturday, the Tribe upset no. 4 seed Old Dominion on the backs of senior Nathan Mann’s clutch three-point shooting down the stretch and senior Laimis Kisielius’ precision in the paint. They also received much-needed support from several hundred raucous VCU fans that remained after the conclusion of the Rams’ quarterfinal match-up vs. Towson to cheer loudly for the underdog Tribe. Expect no less from the VCU faithful, who will show up in herds tomorrow, and give their team a big boost in the cold and cavernous Coliseum.

If the Tribe can slow down the tempo and spread the Rams’ defense out on offense, they will likely take the partisan crowd out of the game. An offensive swoon in the opening minutes similar to those against Georgia State and ODU could easily turn the neutral arena into an unfriendly environment for the Tribe and work in the Rams’ favor.

OUTLOOK

With an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament on the line, VCU has ample motivation to beat the Tribe. Head Coach Anthony Grant and the Rams’ won big non-conference games against Maryland and Akron but have yet to lock up a bid. It’s possible they would still make the tournament after losing to the Tribe since their RPI rating is currently 45th overall, but there’s no guarantee. A Tribe upset would be crushing for VCU’s NCAA hopes and that’s exactly why it won’t happen. But then again, few envisioned sophomore guard David Schneider and Mann would drain back-to-back game-winning shots.

Prediction: VCU 58, Tribe 53

p. RICHMOND, Va. — With the game on the wire, Head Coach Tony Shaver drew up a play for his seniors to execute and they delivered.

Shaver called a full timeout with 29.7 seconds remaining (27 seconds showed on the shot clock) to instruct his team that senior forward Laimis Kisielius and senior guard Nathan Mann would be the centerpieces of the final possession. As the clock ticked down, Kisielius found Mann open on the left wing. Mann ball-faked, dribbled once and launched a three-pointer that rimmed out, found the glass and nestled home for a 63-60 Tribe win over Old Dominion University.

“I couldn’t be happier for him to knock in that last shot,” Shaver said. “And we went to him the last play. We ran a play that involved our two seniors and they made the play to win the ballgame for us.”

For most of the game, Mann struggled to find his shooting stroke from outside, but with 6:55 left and in a one possession game, Mann stroked home his first three-pointer of the tournament to push the College’s lead to six at 53-47.

“I’m probably in the worst slump of my career these last four or five games,” Mann said. “It’s real hard for a shooter to identify why, but I mean the only thing you can do is keep shooting and try to play with confidence. They’ll eventually start falling.”

For the Tribe, his shots fell at just the right time.

In a game which saw the College start 0 for 10 from the floor, the Tribe stayed in the game with its defense, holding the Monarchs to 23 first half points and 37.5 percent shooting for the game. After missing its first 10 attempts, the College trailed ODU 9-2 and finally connected on a pair of treys from sophomore guard David Schneider and junior forward Peter Stein respectively to close the gap to one at 9-8 and ignite a 14-0 run that catapulted the Tribe to its largest lead of the game at 22-13.

The Monarchs closed the first half with a 10-2 run to close to within one at halftime 24-23. In the team’s second meeting of the season, the Tribe led 37-36 at the break, but failed to maintain its lead in the second half.

In today’s third contest between the teams, the College started quickly, scoring the first five points of the second half to push its lead to 29-23. But just like the first half, ODU hung around, continuing to battle and prevent the Tribe from creating a working margin. Three-pointers from Brian Henderson, Abdi Lidonde and Darius James kept the Monarchs close, but the College continued to answer. Back-to-back treys and a pair of free throws from Tribe sophomore forward Danny Sumner pushed the College’s lead to eight at 50-42.

“He’s a pretty good sophomore,” Shaver said. “He gives us an offensive punch that we really need right now as a ballclub.”

Nearly as quickly as Sumner boosted the Tribe, the Monarchs clawed back to within three with 7:31 left and their work on the offensive glass down the stretch allowed them to take their only lead of the second half.

After sophomore guard David Schneider rushed a pass, Monarchs’s guard Brandon Johnson grabbed the ball and headed down court. His teammates eventually found center Gerald Lee down low with good position in the paint. Lee’s defender Stein rejected his first attempt, but Lee corralled the rebound and found the hoop with a stick-back to put the Monarchs ahead 58-57 with 1:41 remaining. ODU’s one-point lead soon evaporated, as Schneider buried a trey from the top of the key to give the College a two-point cushion.

However, the Monarchs battled again on the offensive boards. After two misses, Johnson sailed toward the basket, collecting the rebound and tipping the ball in along the way to knot the game at 60-60.

For the second straight day, the Tribe found itself with the ball in its hand and the game on the line. The shooter may have been different, but the result was the same as Mann’s second three-pointer of the day put the College ahead 63-60 with 7.5 seconds left.

After a Tribe timeout, ODU advanced the ball to mid-court before Monarch Head Coach Blaine Taylor called a full timeout. With 5.8 seconds remaining, ODU inbounded the ball again, but the College’s junior forward Chris Darnell committed a foul, stopping the clock at 4.6 seconds. The Tribe had committed just four fouls prior to Darnell’s, so the College had fouls to give to disrupt the Monarchs final possessions.

Johnson received the final inbounds pass and launched a three-pointer that hit the glass, bounced off the rim and found the arms of Mann, sealing the Tribe’s victory and its third-ever trip to the semifinals of the CAA tournament.

Kisielius and Sumner paced the Tribe with 16 points a piece, while Mann netted 10 points. Kisielius finished 7-10 from the field and displayed his versatility, hitting reverse lay-ups, a leaner and even a tip-in to keep the College ahead.

The Tribe faces no. 1 seed Virginia Commonwealth University at 3 p.m. in Sunday’s first semifinal.