Our William and Mary Tribe (3-5, 1-2 CAA) finally get its first conference win in a frustrating, thrilling showdown at Kaplan Arena against Delaware (3-5, 1-2 CAA) that evoked memories of last year’s Gold Rush game. Winning contributions came from some surprising places while our most consistent players had off days. And while the offensive performance left much to be desired, a smart defensive game plan and some grit found us the win. Sadly, due to Delaware not being able to field enough scholarship players, Sunday’s rematch game has been postponed. Here are my five biggest takeaways (headlined by stats that caught my eye, of course).
10: The number of 2nd-half points for Quinn Blair
Throughout this season, Blair has been good but not great, just solid. Saturday’s performance was especially rewarding for Cameron, whose mantra in Tribe sports and in life is “Feed Quinn.” As Luke Loewe missed a second free throw with only a one-point lead and 24 seconds to go, Quinn imposed his will with a MONSTER rebound. He then iced the game by going a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line. Luke Loewe may get all the headlines, but Quinn is showing he can carry this team too. For his efforts, Quinn was named CAA Player of the Day and winner of Cameron’s heart.
+12: Mehkel Harvey’s game plus/minus
While I’m not one to sing plus/minus’s praises as a basketball statistic, I think in this instance it’s actually on to something. After what I would describe as a frustrating first half for Mehkel, he really turned it on. He grabbed some really important offensive rebounds and put them back where they belonged. He was no doubt integral to the Tribe’s comeback and I give him a lot of kudos for fighting. Mehkel was imposing and efficient. Last thing to add to that list is “consistent.”
0: The number of 1st-half points for Luke Loewe
And while Blair and others shined, Luke struggled uncharacteristically. Delaware’s defensive game plan focused on preventing Luke from getting into a rhythm. For most of the game, it worked. Luke was 0-6 from the field in the first half and struggled to get the ball. However, Loewe still played an integral part in this win with a drawn charge and layup to give the Tribe their first second-half lead (not to mention his seven assists). It’s impressive for William and Mary to show it can win even when Loewe struggles.
96.9: William and Mary’s Defensive Rating
The biggest surprise of the day was the cohesion of the defensive performance relative to what we have become accustomed to seeing. The Tribe have the worst defensive rating in the CAA at 107.7, which is really quite abysmal. While I will save analysis/complaining about the team’s defense for another article, the team has been unable to prevent opponents from scoring at the rim. It was imperative to stop Dylan Painter from dominating in the paint(er). Although Painter was still able to garner seven offensive boards, commitment to double-teaming him kept Painter in check in the second half and provided the opportunity for the Tribe offense to steal this game. Honorable mention should go out to Luke Loewe for putting Ryan Allen, the Blue Hens’ leading scorer, on Revis Island for most of the game.
6: Number of games shooting under 30% from three for the Tribe
At some point, this team will have to shoot well. And the production they are getting from the outside is not cutting it. While our three-point percentage still continues to increase from its nadir against Virginia, this team has enough players who can shoot the ball (theoretically) well to make this concerning. Six games is tied for the most games shooting under 30 percent with 17 or more attempts in a team’s first eight games in D-I basketball. Since 2010, only one team has had eight such games, and only five have had seven. Something feels broken on offense, but this is a discussion for another time.
Next up is a weekend tilt against Drexel (5-4, 0-2 CAA) in my favorite city, Philadelphia!