By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
In its five Colonial Athletic Association games to date, William & Mary is shooting a shade under 39 percent from the floor and 28 percent from the 3-point arc. Both figures are significantly lower than last season, when the Tribe was a very different team.
Yet W&M has managed to win two conference games and twice hang with defending champion Hofstra by pounding the glass and getting to the free throw line.
The Tribe is averaging 10.8 offensive rebounds a game, second among CAA teams that have played at least two conference games. W&M is averaging 19 free throw attempts, first among teams meeting that same standard.
In a 67-62 win over Delaware on Jan. 9, the Tribe turned 16 offensive rebounds into 13 second-chance points. In Sunday's 69-64 win at Drexel, W&M went 24-of-29 from the free throw line, 21-of-26 in the second half. The Tribe scored its final 19 points from the stripe.
"We're actually a better offensive rebounding team this year than we were last year," W&M coach
Dane Fischer said. "As for getting to the line, something we constantly talk about being able to put pressure on the defense by getting into the paint.
"Yuri (Covington) and Luke (Loewe) obviously are terrific drivers with the ball. Quinn (Blair) might be our best guy getting to the foul line. And to see Connor (Kochera) do it Sunday was great."
Kochera, a freshman, went 14-of-16 from the free throw line in the Drexel win — 12-of-14 in the final 3:17. Before Sunday, he had only been to the line 10 times in eight games.
For the season, W&M (4-6, 2-3) is shooting 73 percent from the free throw line. In conference games, the Tribe is at 75.5 percent, third among CAA teams that have played more than two conference games.
Blair, who has the most attempts at 40, is converting at an 80-percent rate. Loewe is making 79 percent of his attempts followed by Kochera (.769) and Covington (.750).
"I think we're a really good free throw shooting team," Fischer said. "The guys who get there can knock them down at a pretty consistent rate. Obviously, that's key. If you're getting to the foul line, you've got to make them."
The Tribe was scheduled to host Charleston this weekend, but the games were postponed because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Cougars' program. Instead, W&M will go against a familiar opponent — Drexel, which will come to Kaplan Arena Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
Essentially, it will be the rubber game of a three-game series.
The Dragons (6-5, 1-3) were scheduled to play at Elon this weekend, but those games were postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Phoenix's program.
In last weekend's first game, Drexel shot 61 percent and finished plus-12 on the boards in an 82-58 win. The game was largely decided by two stretches — one in the first half, one in the second half — in which the Dragons outscored the Tribe by a combined score of 34-4.
W&M turned that around the following day and held the Dragons to 35-percent shooting from the field.
