W&M Falls to UNC in First Round of NIT

By Miles Hilder, of the W&M Flat Hat Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Tony Shaver sat alone before the podium at North Carolina’s Carmichael Arena and looked down. His William and Mary basketball team had just fallen 80-72 to North Carolina in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. Tears welled up in his eyes as he gained his composure. Finally, Shaver raised his head and spoke.

“I’ve coached a long time, but,” the 56-year-old head coach paused to catch his breath. “I’ve probably never been prouder of a group of kids than I am these guys.”

Shaver’s squad had just taken the defending national champion Tar Heels to the wire, turning a 10-point halftime deficit into a late second half lead before succumbing to the Carolina pressure down the stretch. In the process, Shaver and the Tribe showed a national audience what a never-say-die attitude can accomplish.

“They way they played, the way they keep their composure, the schedule they faced this year,” Shaver continued, “to play as well as they did was very impressive to me. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

The game got off to an ominous start for the Tribe, as Carolina scored the first nine points, sending the sellout crowd at the Tar Heels’ old stadium into a frenzy. But the Tribe fought back behind a barrage of three pointers from seniors David Schneider and Danny Sumner and junior JohnMark Ludwick.

The team shot a season high 43 attempts from beyond the arc, making 16. Schneider buried seven of his 15 three-point attempts as part of 21 point, eight assist performance in his final collegiate game.

“[Schneider] played the way he always plays. I can’t imagine playing without him, I really truly can’t,” Shaver said. “His effort, his intensity, his heart, are always on display. You won’t find a kid playing the game harder than he does anywhere.”

Yet as the shots continued to get hoisted, the Tribe began to suffer from fatigue. Sophomore Marcus Kitts, who amassed an efficient 12 points on six of seven shooting while guarding one or more of the plethora of Carolina big men, fouled out with 3:43 remaining and the Tribe up three. The loss proved vital, as the Tar Heels dominated the glass and outscored the Tribe 11-0 after Kitts was forced to exit the game.

Without Kitts and sophomore Quinn McDowell, who did not play due to a right leg injury, on the floor over the game’s final minutes, the Tribe offense fell apart.

“Our rotations weren’t right at the end of the game, we had people out of position, but I think their pressure forced the turnovers,” Shaver said. “They really overplayed our pass to the post and got some key turnovers in that spot.”

The game’s deciding play happened with just under a minute remaining and the Tar Heels up 75-72. As the Tribe was moving the ball through the motion offense, Carolina sophomore Tyler Zeller jumped over the back of the Tribe’s Steven Hess, stole the ball and took it the length of the court for an uncontested slam dunk. The basket stretched the Tar Heel lead to five, and the team never looked back.

The turnover was one of 17 for the Tribe, and the College was outscored 38-20 in points in the paint and 10-2 on fast break points. The Tribe didn’t make a field goal over the final 5:09, but shot 41.9 percent on the game.

Despite the final score, when the buzzer sounded a palpable sigh of relief echoed out of the Carmichael Arena crowd, serving as an undeniable sign that the transformation of the Tribe under Shaver from laughing stock to legitimate contender was complete.

“I remember telling our guys six years ago, I think we came here and got demolished in a ball game. We talked then about how we want our program to get to the point where we can walk in these arenas expecting to win and our kids did that this year,” Shaver said.