The Story
Tribe Drops Tear-Jerker at UNC
In perhaps the Tribe's most gutsy effort of the season, the Tribe nearly upset the reigning NCAA champion North Carolina Tar Heels in North Carolina on Tuesday night.
In their first post-season appearance in over two decades, the Tribe hit a season-high 16 three pointers, and they forced the Heels to beat them inside the last minute of play.
David Schneider (’10) rebounded from his cold-shooting CAA tournament, putting up 21 points, all of which came from beyond the three-point arc. Following Schneider's distance-shooting trend, JohnMark Ludwick (’12) was the second leading scorer with 15 points. Filling in for an injured Quinn McDowell (’12), all of Ludwick's points were from three-range as well.
Aside from the Tribe's 16 threes, all of the College's points came from either the charity-stripe or inside the paint. However, the Tribe's inability to get to the free throw line--they had only four points compared to UNC's 18--proved to be the difference maker.
The season was one of ups and downs for the Tribe. With wins against three teams appearing in the NCAA tournament--Richmond, Maryland and Wake Forest--the Tribe had as good an out of conference season as could be expected. However, struggles at home against Towson, UNC Wilmington and a loss at James Madison prevented the Tribe from joining Old Dominion in representing the CAA in the NCAAs.
Instead, the Tribe faced the UNC Tar Heels at home in the NIT, in a match that arguably was as unfavorable as playing any team in the country. UNC, coming off its worst season in recent history, certainly would not leave anything on the court against the Tribe.
The Tribe went down 7-0 to start the game, before what one announcer called "the greatest time-out in post-season basketball history." They answered with a 14-2 run to take the lead 14-11.
After seesaw scoring tied the game at 18, the Tribe went cold from three range and trailed by 10 at the half.
However, lights out three-point shooting rallied the Tribe back, and they were in position to win the game inside the last three minutes. However, after Marcus Kitts fouled out, the Tribe's already small committee of big men was drawn too thin. With no inside presence, the Heels rolled over the Tribe and forced a frenzy of rushed three-pointers that refused to fall.
The game was the last for the four seniors: Danny Sumner, whose alley-oop was one of the major momentum swingers of the second half; Sean McCurdy, whose inside penetration was necessary for the three-point game; Steve Hess, one of the team's few big-men; and David Schneider, the senior leader, second-team all-CAA and overall gutsiest player around. While the contest wasn't a victory, there is no disrespect in falling at UNC in a contest like this.