Monarchs' depth wears down Tribe, 61 - 42

NORFOLK

Gerald Lee has rarely been so popular. Each time the Old Dominion forward set up shop near the basket Wednesday night, two William and Mary players collapsed on him, trying to deny him the ball.

When Lee managed to get it, a third Tribe player often strafed down from the perimeter to harass him.

The result of all that attention was a 1 for 7 shooting night from Lee, ODU’s leading scorer.

Not that it mattered that much, in a 61-42 Monarch win that served as a demonstration of ODU’s depth and versatility. Take away Lee, and ODU can turn to Frank Hassell or Keyon Carter inside, or Kent Bazemore, Marsharee Neely or Darius James on the perimeter.

William and Mary does not have the same luxury. Like Lee, William and Mary’s leading scorer, David Schneider, also struggled through a subpar night, shooting 2 for 12. The difference was that while Lee got plenty of help. 

“We’re more than a one-man team,” ODU coach Blaine Taylor said.

So is William and Mary, but after a historically fast start, the gravitational pull of a long season appears to be bringing the Tribe back to earth. Once 14-3, William and Mary has lost four of its last five.

ODU, meanwhile, has won nine of its last 10, and pulled back into a first-place tie in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 10-2 conference record.

Count Tribe coach Tony Shaver as impressed, after ODU’s second win over his team in 12 days.

''They’ve got it all,” Shaver said. “Great depth, great balance, a great inside/outside mix, great athleticism.

“For 30 minutes we battled but we couldn’t stay with them down the stretch.”

The Tribe was within eight with 13 minutes left, but a Neely 3-pointer pushed it to 11 and Old Dominion rolled from there, taking advantage of its superior size, quickness and depth. Lee scored just five points, but Hassell had 15 and James 11.

ODU held William and Mary to 33 percent shooting, returning to defensive form after a loss at Northeastern Saturday in which the Huskies shot 59 percent.

“I thought in some respects, with all due respect, we wore them down a little bit,” Taylor said.

The Monarchs wore the Tribe down with more man-to-man defense than they’ve played recently. Much of the attention went to Schneider, who missed eight of his 10 3-point attempts.

ODU also pounded William and Mary on the glass, 48-25, though not because of a lack of effort from the Tribe, Shaver said.

“We played incredibly hard,” he said. “We had inside position time and time again, and they still got the rebound. That’s a frustrating thing.”

Also frustrating was William and Mary’s 5-for-25 night from 3-point range, partially the result of too many long ODU arms in shooters’ faces.

“People are going to say we should go inside more, but we don’t match up with those guys,” Shaver said. Now 18-6, the Monarchs will be a tough match-up for many teams from here on out, Shaver predicted.

“I really think if they can get to the NCAA tournament they can make waves, they can beat a lot of people.”

Ed Miller, 757-446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com