Colonial Notebook
by Beth Iskoe
It’s crowded at the top
There are seven teams within four games of each other in the CAA. UNC
Wilmington (16-6, 10-3), which seemed to be pulling away last week, lost one
of two games and now holds a slim half-game lead over Virginia Commonwealth
(15-7, 10-4). George Mason (14-9, 9-5) won both of its games last week to
pull into a tie for third place with Drexel (14-9, 9-5). Old Dominion
(11-11, 8-6) also won two games last week to gain sole possession of fifth
place. Delaware (12-11, 7-7) and William and Mary (11-11, 6-7) both split
their two games this week to hold onto the six and seventh seeds
respectively.
Bringing up the rear
James Madison (9-15, 5-9) and Hofstra (5-18, 4-10 CAA) each lost a pair of
games last week to slip into eighth and ninth place. Towson (4-19, 1-13)
still has a firm lock on the cellar after dropping both games they played
last week.
They’re on fire
Virginia Commonwealth is the hottest team in the conference. The Rams have
won six straight and are making a push for the top spot in the CAA. They now
trail UNC Wilmington by only a half game. This past week, Virginia
Commonwealth beat Drexel 72-59 Wednesday night, with the final score being
closer than the actual game. To end the first half, the Rams went on a 21-1
run and went into the locker room with a 42-25 advantage. While the Dragons
did go on a 15-0 run in the second half, it was not enough to pull off the
victory. On Saturday, Virginia Commonwealth avenged an earlier loss to
Delaware by beating the Hens 71-66. The Rams battled back from an
eight-point deficit with eight minutes to play. Their comeback was aided by
the fact that Delaware was only able to score three field goals the rest of
the way.
Fallen on hard times
Towson has lost nine straight games and has only won one conference game
this season. On Wednesday night, the Tigers lost 59-52 to William and Mary.
They were held without a basket for over nine minutes during the first half
and scored only four points in the last 8:24 of the contest. Saturday
afternoon, Old Dominion crushed Towson 73-51. To start the second half, the
Monarchs went on a 14-1 run to hold a 46-24 lead with fourteen minutes
remaining. The Tigers have not won since January 15 when they defeated
Hofstra 61-54.
Can’t stop the bleeding
After tough losses last week to two of the best teams in the conference,
Hofstra has now lost five straight contests. On Thursday night, the Pride
fell 70-54 to George Mason. They were able to stay close until with twelve
minutes remaining in the second half the Patriots went on a 13-1 run to take
control of the game. Against UNC Wilmington Saturday, Hofstra trailed by as
many as 27 points with fourteen minutes remaining before staging an
incredible comeback that fell just short. The Pride were able to pull within
two points in the last minute, but were unable to complete the comeback.
Giant killers
Old Dominion certainly has UNC Wilmington’s number. Wednesday night, the
Monarchs completed their season sweep of the Seahawks by holding on for a
71-68 victory. Senior forward Ricardo March led the way with 22 points and
eleven rebounds. Also playing big roles were senior forward Rasheed Wright
and freshman forward Alex Loughton. Wright scored a game-high 23 points and
added eight rebounds, while Loughton contributed thirteen points and grabbed
nine boards.
Streak snapped
William and Mary had been winners of four straight contests until they lost
60-43 to George Mason Saturday afternoon. Once again, senior guard Adam Hess
was the only the reason the Tribe were even close. Hess scored sixteen
points and made his first three shots to keep William and Mary in the game
early. The Tribe were out-rebounded 40-28 and only made six-of-thirteen free
throws compared to George Mason’s seventeen-of-twenty.
Milestones
George Mason senior forward Jesse Young scored sixteen points and added
eighteen rebounds in the Patriots’ 70-54 victory over Hofstra Thursday
night. The sixteen points gave him 1,015 for his career. Young is currently
21st on the Patriots’ career scoring list and is the twelfth George Mason
player to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds (652).
Delaware senior guard Ryan Iversen hit on four-of-eight treys and notched
the 100th three-pointer of his career Saturday in the Hens’ 71-66 loss to
Virginia Commonwealth.
Towson sophomore center Tony Dixon has 68 blocked shots in 23 games, which
ties the third highest single season total in school history. He is
currently second in the CAA in blocks per contest.
Undermanned
Hofstra was down to five scholarship players during their 74-70 loss to UNC
Wilmington Saturday. Sophomore guard Woody Souffrant was out with the flu,
freshman center Omar Alston was out with a fractured foot, senior forward
Danny Walker missed the game due to an injured ankle, and freshman guard
Gibran Washington was out with an injured wrist. Senior forward Osei Miller
and sophomore forward Michael Radziejewski were both on the bench because of
knee injuries, and sophomore forward Wendell Gibson who was playing with a
hurt knee, left Saturday’s game due to a cut over his eye.
