sports
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Sports Editor Mike Barnes Sports Editor Jared Foretek flathatsports@gmail.com
The Flat Hat | Tuesday, December 4, 2012 | Page 8
71
WILLIAM AND MARY TRIBE
62
OLD DOMINION MONARCHS
COOPER NELSON / THE FLAT HAT
Changing of the guard
Sophomore guard Marcus Thornton drives to the basket against Old Dominion Saturday. Thornton led all scorers with 23 points, and garnered CAA Player of the Week honors for his performance as the Tribe moved to 4-3.
Opportunistic offense, stifling defense lead College to first win over Old Dominion since 2008 BY BLAKE HUNT FLAT HAT STAFF WRITER William and Mary last defeated Old Dominion in 2008. In the intervening four years, the Colonial Athletic Association rivals have met nine times, with ODU winning every time and often in dominant fashion. That streak came to an end Saturday night at Kaplan Arena, as the College used a second-half run to win its conference opener, 71-62. Sophomore guard Marcus Thornton’s 23 points led the Tribe. Thornton converted five of nine three-point attempts on his way to leading all scorers. Junior guard Brandon Britt poured in 15 of his own, 12 of which came during a five minute second-half stretch that saw the College outscore the Monarchs 14-2 to put the game out of reach. Thornton emphasized the importance of the win, not only as the conference opener, but also because it ended a three-game skid in which the Tribe gave up late leads. “This was a big game,” Thornton said. “We had
lost our last three, so it was good to come out here and protect our home court and get a good win.” Playing in front of an enthusiastic and uncharacteristically noisy home crowd, Thornton and his teammates seemed to feed off the added energy. “The fan support was amazing tonight,” Thornton said. “We hope [the fans] keep it up and we’ll keep the wins coming.” Although beating ODU is something head coach Tony Shaver has done only four times in his previous nine seasons at the helm, he was still hesitant to see the win as anything other than a good start to the conference season. “We’re 1-0 in the CAA. It feels good to win a CAA game,” Shaver said. “We played so well at Wake Forest and Richmond and didn’t win. For us to come back and respond this way is a sign of great toughness.” A determined Tribe squad overcame a turnover-plagued first half to score with ease in the second. ODU used an aggressive match-up zone for most of the game, and trailed by just one
TRACK AND FIELD
point at the half after forcing eleven turnovers. But the College adjusted, and in the second half committed just four turnovers en route to shooting an even 50 percent for the game, including 43 percent from beyond the arc. The Tribe eventually broke the zone thanks in large part to the steady play of junior center Tim Rusthoven. Rusthoven also cracked double figures, scoring 15 points and grabbing seven rebounds against a Monarch squad known for its physical play in the paint. Hobbled by injuries most of last season, Rusthoven often struggled for position against teams with size. This year, a stronger Rusthoven is playing healthy, and the team is looking to him for a big year. “If [Rusthoven] can stay healthy he’s an AllCAA type player,” Shaver said. Rusthoven is one half of a much improved low-post duo, with fellow junior Fred Heldring providing key minutes off the bench. “[Heldring] came in and gave us a great See M. BASKETBALL page 7
COOPER NELSON / THE FLAT HAT
Junior forward Kyle Gaillard (left) and senior guard Matt Rum.
Tribe opens indoor season with wins
Women garner one ECAC invite, men notch four IC4A nods against Navy BY MIKE BARNES FLAT HAT SPORTS EDITOR
COURTESY PHOTO / TRIBE ATHLETICS
Senior john Muller recorded his first collegiate victory Saturday.
After a pair of stellar cross country seasons, William and Mary opened its indoor track and field season with successful outings on both the men’s and women’s sides. Many of the same athletes who propelled the Tribe to a pair of Colonial Athletic Association championships in cross country this October powered the Tribe to one ECAC qualification on the women’s side and four IC4A qualifications on the men’s side. The men’s squad split up this weekend and competed in two events. The jumpers competed in the Liberty Kickoff in Lynchburg, Va., while the rest of the team traveled to Annapolis, Md. for the Navy Invitational. In Annapolis, senior John Muller provided the biggest Tribe victory of the day. Muller garnered the College’s first IC4A qualification of the day in the 3,000-meter run. The
LaGrangeville, N.Y. native crossed the line at eight minutes and 26.16 seconds, claiming his first collegiate victory in the process. Freshman Ryan Gousse also performed well in the 3,000m, as his time of 8:33.58 secured a fifth place finish. While Muller’s qualification in the 3,000m served as the College’s only victory, the squad had an extremely impressive showing in the 5,000-meter run. Senior Alex McGrath finished second with a time of 14:24.20 and was closely followed by junior Josh Hardin in fourth with a time of 14:36.10. Sophomore Rad Gunzenhauser rounded out the Tribe trio with a fifth place finish. All three Tribe runners earned IC4A qualifications as a result of their strong finishes. The College’s second victory of the day occurred in the distance medley relay. The squad, which finished with a winning time of 10:24.66, finished four seconds ahead of second place Johns Hopkins and seven seconds ahead of third place Navy. Redshirt freshman Ian
MacFawn got the Tribe off to a good start, junior Mark Moran and freshman Ricky Cappetta slowly built a Tribe and redshirt sophomore David Gunnerson closed out the College victory. Gunnerson and MacFawn also contributed to another impressive Tribe performance later in the event. Along with freshman Dmitri Zuccarello, Gunnerson and MacFawn led the College to a third place finish in the 4x800 meter relay. Hampton crossed the line first with a time of 7:58.43, Georgetown finished in second with a time of 8:02.46, and the College crossed the line in 8:07.56. In the field events, freshman Taylor Frenia set a College freshman record with a 15.32 meter throw in the 35-lb. weight throw. Frenia’s eighth-place toss puts him 12th all-time at the College and broke the previous Tribe freshman record by nine inches. See TRACK page 7