Colonial Notebook
by Beth Iskoe
Delaware (1-1)
The Hens opened their 2002-2003 home campaign on a positive note Sunday afternoon and improved to .500 by virtue of their 87-58 victory over Long Island. Senior guard Ryan Iversen collected the second triple-double in Delaware history by grabbing seventeen rebounds, scoring twelve points and dishing out eleven assists. Senior forward Maurice Sessoms scored a game-high nineteen points and was one of four Delaware players to put up double-digits in scoring. The Hens only led by eight points with 15:01 remaining, but went on a 20-4 run to put the game out of reach. This was Delaware’s 46th straight home victory when scoring more than 70 points. This week, the Hens will face two teams from Philadelphia. First, they host Penn Tuesday at 7:30 pm and then go on the road to face St. Joseph’s Monday at 7 p.m. But, Delaware will have to face these challenges without one of its key players. The school announced Wednesday that junior forward Robin Wentt will likely miss the remainder of the season due to injury. This injury to his left shoulder is believed to be similar to the injury to Wentt’s right shoulder which sidelined him last season.
Drexel (2-1)
The Dragons pulled off the biggest surprise of the Colonial Athletic Association so far when they went into the Palestra Monday and defeated Penn 71-62. Senior center Robert Battle recorded a double-double by scoring 21 points and collecting ten rebounds. Although the Quakers held a one-point lead early in the second half, Drexel went on a game-breaking 12-0 run to take a commanding 44-33 advantage and did not trail for the remainder of the game. On Saturday, the Dragons escaped a close call with upset-minded Monmouth. Drexel trailed by one point with two minutes remaining, but scored the final six points to secure its second straight victory. The Dragons will go on the road twice this week to try to extend its winning streak to four games. Tuesday they face Lafayette at 7:30 p.m. and then return to the Palestra Saturday afternoon to face St. Joseph’s at 1 p.m.
George Mason (0-3)
On Saturday, the Patriots failed to win their rematch against visiting Mississippi, losing 56-49. Last December, George Mason snapped the Rebels’ 44-game home winning streak, the second longest in the nation at the time, with a 71-70 victory. Senior forward Jesse Young scored sixteen points and pulled down thirteen boards in defeat. The game was not as close as the score indicates. The Patriots trailed 49-33 with less than five minutes left and never had a second half lead. This is the first time George Mason has been 0-3 since the 1979-1980 season. The 49-point output was its lowest point total since a 64-48 loss to Duquesne last season. The Patriots will have two chances this week to try to get their first win when they travel to Coppin State Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. and host Niagara Saturday at 7 p.m.
Hofstra (1-3)
Even though they hosted the Holiday Tournament, the Pride only managed to win one of three games. On Monday night they lost to St. Francis (NY) 72-56, defeated Lehigh Saturday 63-50 and fell to Quinnipiac Sunday 71-68. Sophomore forward Kenny Adeleke paced Hofstra in its first two contests. He had fifteen points and seven rebound in the first game and tallied 23 points and fourteen rebound in game two. Sophomore guard Woody Souffrant scored a team-high 24 points to accompany six assists in the Pride’s third game. Last week, Hofstra sophomore guard Chris McRae announced that he was quitting the team for personal reasons. Although he had yet to play in a game this season, McRae averaged roughly four points and three boards per game last season. The Pride will have time to regroup, however, as they do not play another game until Saturday when they host Monmouth at 1 p.m.
James Madison (1-2)
The Dukes played two Big East Schools last week, and came away losers both times. On Monday, James Madison was handily defeated by a much more talented Georgetown squad. The Dukes were out of the game by halftime when they went into the locker room with a 45-28 deficit. James Madison was completely dominated on the offensive glass by a margin of 18-5. Senior center Ian Caskill was one of the lone bright spots for the Dukes. He contributed 20 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort. James Madison fared somewhat better Saturday against West Virginia, even holding a 38-32 edge at halftime. However, the Mountaineers shot 57.1 percent from the field in the second half to come away with the victory. Caskill again led the Dukes, this time collecting a double-double with fifteen points and thirteen rebounds. James Madison has a busy schedule this week. They play LaSalle Tuesday at home at 7 p.m., face host Davidson Thursday at 7 p.m. and return home to take on Akron Saturday at 7 p.m.
Old Dominion (1-2)
The Monarchs were on both sides of easy wins this week. On Monday night they crushed Campbell 72-43. Old Dominion led by only 12 at halftime, but outscored the Fighting Camels 29-6 in the first ten minutes of the second half to build an insurmountable 55-29 advantage. Senior forward Rasheed Wright led the Monarchs with eighteen points and nine rebounds. Campbell was plagued by poor shooting all night, converting only fourteen-of-45 shots (31%). Even though Old Dominion was able to stay close into the second half of Saturday’s match-up against St. Joseph’s, the Hawks proved too much for the Monarchs to handle, as they fell 63-47. Wright had an extremely tough shooting game, connecting on only one-of-twelve shots. Senior forward Ricardo Marsh scored a team-high sixteen points. Old Dominion has lost to St. Joseph’s all four times they have played the Hawks on the road. The Monarchs will try to get back on the winning side when they again go on the road to take on Hampton Wednesday at 7 p.m. Old Dominion then returns home to face East Carolina Saturday at 1 p.m.
Towson (1-2)
In the Battle of Baltimore’s third-place game Monday night against Morgan, the Tigers had a 30-22 lead at halftime. They never trailed en route to their 67-53 victory. Junior guard Brian Allen scored thirteen points and added nine rebounds and was the only Towson player to be named to the All-Tournament team. During the tournament, he averaged 19 points per game. On Saturday, Georgetown completely dominated yet another CAA member, when they destroyed the Tigers 81-52. The Hoyas led 43-29 at halftime and then went on a crushing 16-2 run to go up 66-37 with 10:50 remaining. Freshman forward Lawrence Hamm was the only Towson player to score in double figures. The Tigers two leading scorers, Allen and junior point guard Jamaal Gilchrist, were held to a combined six points. This week, Towson will have two road games when they take on Rider Tuesday at 7:30 pm and Morgan State Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
UNC Wilmington (2-1)
The Seahawks were the only CAA team to go undefeated last week. On Tuesday they defeated Texas-San Antonio 66-52 and on Saturday they defeated East Tennessee State 78-57. In their first game, UNC Wilmington led 38-28 at halftime and never trailed in the second half. Senior guard and NBA prospect Brett Blizzard had nineteen points, five rebounds and four assists, and senior forward Craig Callahan recorded a double-double with 23 points and eleven rebounds. In their second game, the Seahawks led by fifteen early in the second half and never led by less than seven points the rest of the way. Blizzard had another solid performance, pouring in 21 points, including five-of-eight from three-point land. Junior forward Anthony Terrell added 20 points. UNC Wilmington is off until next Saturday when they go on the road to face Dayton at 8 p.m.
Virginia Commonwealth (0-2)
The Rams lost two games this past week, including one they should have won. On Tuesday, Virginia Commonwealth forced overtime against a talented Western Kentucky squad, before falling 80-73. The Rams actually led 63-55 with 3:30 remaining in regulation before the Hilltoppers came back to lead by three with just seconds to go. But, junior guard Domonic Jones made a tough three-pointer at the buzzer to force the extra session. Jones scored nineteen points, freshman forward Nick George posted a double-double in his first college game with fifteen points and ten rebounds and junior center Troy Godwin added nine points and pulled down 20 rebounds. On Saturday, Wagner defeated Virginia Commonwealth by almost the same score, winning 80-72. The Rams trailed by seven at halftime, but went on a 10-2 run to take a 42-41 lead with 16 minutes remaining. Virginia Commonwealth stayed close throughout the remainder of the game and only trailed 73-69 with a minute remaining, but could not overcome Wagner’s free-throw shooting. Senior forward Willie Taylor led the Rams with 22 points and eight rebounds. Virginia Commonwealth will have three chances to redeem itself this week when it hosts North Carolina A & T Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Florida Atlantic Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and Richmond Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
William and Mary (0-4)
The Tribe lost a close game Tuesday night when they were defeated 62-61 by host Liberty. They lost a not-so-close-game Saturday when they fell 66-51 on the road to East Carolina. Against Liberty, William and Mary held a one-point lead with 1:15 remaining, but did not score the rest of the way. The game was back-and-forth the entire way, as no team led by more than six points in the second half. Freshman forward Jack Jenkins came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points in the losing effort. Against East Carolina, the Tribe was actually tied at halftime. However, the Pirates went on a long 14-4 run to go up by fourteen with under six minutes left. Although William and Mary was able to cut the deficit to 57-51, East Carolina scored the last nine points of the game to secure the victory. Junior forward Adam Hess led the Tribe with fifteen points. William and Mary is off until Saturday when it hosts Big East opponent Virginia Tech at 7 p.m.
