USAFA, Colo. – William & Mary men’s basketball closed out play in the Air Force Classic on Sunday afternoon falling to Lindenwood, 71-60, at Clune Arena.
The Tribe (2-4) trailed by as much as 16 in the opening half, but fought back to cut the deficit to just four, 56-52, on a Trey Moss 3-pointer with 5:47 remaining. Lindenwood (3-3) hit a season-high 10 3-pointers, including one from Jeremiah Talton with just over 4:30 remaining to stretch to the lead back to nine.
Sophomore Chase Lowe scored 13 of his career-high 17 points in the second half and also led the Tribe with seven rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Junior Gabe Dorsey scored 16 points on 4-of-8 from 3-point range, while classmate Noah Collier rounded out the Tribe double-digit scorers with 11 points on 5-of-9 from the floor.
Lindenwood started fast, hitting its first five shots from the floor in opening up at 12-4 lead on a Talton 3-pointer less than four minutes into the contest.
Back-to-back Gabe Dorsey 3-pointers closed the Tribe within two. The deficit was again two, 17-15, following a top of the key triple from Jack Karasinski midway through the opening 20 minutes.
Darius Beane and Keith Haymon, who combined for 27 of Lindenwood’s 38 first-half points, sparked a 12-0 Lion run to extend the lead to double figures.
Back-to-back 3’s from Hayman followed by a Keenon Cole triple pushed the margin to its largest at 38-22 with 1:19 left.
Four-straight Gabe Dorsey free throws and a Lowe lay-up off a Karasinski steal in transition sliced the deficit to 46-41 with 11:02 remaining.
The Lindenwood lead moved back to nine, 56-47, following a Cole free throw, before W&M made its final push. Lowe scored on a drive to the hoop before finding Moss for a wing 3-pointer to close the Tribe within four, 56-52, with 5:47 remaining.
Talton and Cole each hit dagger 3-pointers at the 4:39 and 2:30 mark to extend the Lindewood lead back to three possessions on the way to the 11-point victory.
Bean led all scorers with 25 points, while Haymon added 15 on 5-of-7 from 3-point range. The Lions shot 43.6% (24-of-55) for the game, including 10-of-21 from 3-point range.
W&M connected on just 37% (20-of-54) shooting and was only 6-of-25 from 3-point range. The Tribe held a 38-36 advantage on the glass, including seven from Caleb Dorsey.
Gabe Dorsey averaged 16 points per game, hitting 13-of-27 from 3-point range, during the Air Force Classic and was named to the all-tournament team.
Up Next
The Tribe returns home on Saturday, Nov. 25, when it hosts UMBC for a Black Out. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from Kaplan Arena and the game will be streamed on FloHoops.
