Colonial Fans

(2) Old Dominion 70, (4) Virginia Commonwealth 65
Frank Hassell scored 14 of his game-high 22 points in the first half, as the Old Dominion Monarchs (27-6) took a 39-26 halftime lead and staved off a frenzied second-half rally by the Virginia Commonwealth Rams (23-11) to claim the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament championship.  The Rams outscored the Monarchs 39-31 in the second half, but were unable to completely overcome the 13-point deficit they faced, as Old Dominion’s Kent Bazemore hit crucial baskets at the 3:12 and 1:33 marks of the second …

Semifinal No. 2: (2) Old Dominion 77, (3) Hofstra 69
It truly was a hassle for the Hofstra men’s basketball team to guard Frank Hassell, and that’s pretty much the reason why Old Dominion is going to be the favorite team in many college basketball towns and locker rooms on Monday night.
Hassell continued his stellar play in the 2011 CAA Tournament, scoring 22 points to lead the Old Dominion Monarchs past the Hofstra Pride and into the CAA championship game.  Hassell, who scored 24 points in the Monarchs’ 59-50 quarterfinal victory …

The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) semifinals had a touch of that patented March Madness, as fourth-seeded Virginia Commonwealth knocked off George Mason, the tournament’s top seed, 79-63.  The seeds held in the other semifinal, as second-seeded Old Dominion beat Hofstra, 77-69, to set-up an intrastate championship game clash with VCU.
Semifinal No. 1: (4) VCU 79, (1) George Mason 63
The hot-shooting VCU Rams (23-10) led for nearly the entire game, coasting to a rout of the George Mason Patriots (26-6), that ended the Patriots’ 16-game winning streak, the longest in the …

Saturday, March 5 – Richmond, VA
(4) Virginia Commonwealth 62, (5) Drexel 60
The Virginia Commonwealth Rams are almost certainly not going to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. They’ll have to win the CAA Tournament in order to go Dancing in 2011, and all they can say on Sunday morning is that they’re still alive in the push for an automatic bid.
It’s all that needs to be said after a Saturday escape.
Senior forward Jamie Skeen had a game to remember for the VCU crew, scoring 18 second-half points and …

(2) Old Dominion 59, (7) Delaware 50
There’s always a tricky aspect to a conference tournament opener for a team that gets a bye in at least one round. The Old Dominion basketball team learned how to deal with it, and that’s why the Sunday slate in the Colonial is going to knock everyone’s socks off.
The Old Dominion Monarchs used a 15-4 second half run to blow a close game wide open and claim a victory over the Delaware Blue Hens and a spot in the CAA tournament semifinals.  Senior forward …

(1) George Mason 68, (9) Georgia State 45
Top-seeded George Mason (26-5) won its 16th consecutive game Saturday, routing Georgia State (12-19) in a Colonial Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinal contest.  Senior forward Cam Long scored 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and Andre Cornelius and Ryan Pearson chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively, as the Patriots used a balanced attack to overwhelm the Panthers.
The Patriots started slowly, perhaps showing some signs of rust from not having played since February 26, which allowed the Panthers to keep the score …

The 2011 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) men’s basketball tournament tips off today, March 4, and concludes with the championship game on Monday March 7.  The CAA tournament takes place at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia, with the championship game set for 7:00 p.m. Eastern on ESPN.  The top four finishers in the CAA – George Mason (25-5, 16-2), Old Dominion (24-6, 14-4), Hofstra (20-10, 14-4), and Virginia Commonwealth (21-10, 12-6) – receive first-round byes with the teams that finished fifth through 12th squaring off in the opening round.
Past Big …

(3) William & Mary 47, (2) Northeastern 45
It was ferocious. It was spirited. It was exciting. It was consequential. It was pulse-pounding, passionate, and perilous to one’s cardiovascular health if you had a stake in the outcome.
But boy, the second semifinal of the 2010 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament was also one ugly basketball game.
In a fiercely-contested competition that was both riveting and revolting, the Tribe of William & Mary were the last ones standing inside Richmond Coliseum. The third seed from Williamsburg, Va., outlasted the second-seeded Northeastern Huskies on …

(1) Old Dominion 73, (5) Virginia Commonwealth 69 (OT)
The Old Dominion Monarchs held the fate of their own season in their hands on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but they also held the fate of Bubble Nation in their mitts as well. Therefore, when a backyard battle against Virginia Commonwealth took a negative turn at Richmond Coliseum, the regular season champion of the CAA had to be sweating bullets.
Somehow, Old Dominion managed to dodge those bullets as well.
In a game that possessed enormous bubble …

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament – Final
(1) Old Dominion 60, (3) William & Mary 53
Now, the Old Dominion Monarchs won’t have to worry about the bubble.
The regular-season champion of the Colonial Athletic Association created a drama-free Selection Sunday on a magic Monday in Richmond, Va. Coach Blaine Taylor’s team used superb footwork and timely rotations in a dominating defensive display that turned back William & Mary in the CAA Tournament final. The seven-point triumph carries the school from Norfolk, Va., into the NCAA Tournament. The only suspense attached to the selection …