WILLIAMSBURG — On Saturday afternoon inside Kaplan Arena, William & Mary used the power of the team in a 96-81 victory over UMBC.
Playing without two starters and two key reserves, the Tribe (3-4) received contributions up and down the lineup in rallying for the victory. W&M shot 67.9% in the second half to overcome a halftime deficit and snap a four-game losing streak.
“Coach (Dane) Fischer made an emphasis in the power of the team over the summer,” sophomore Chase Lowe said. “Everyone is as important as the guy in front of them, and he did a great job of making sure everyone was ready to go no matter where you were on the depth chart.”
Lowe, junior Gabe Dorsey and sophomore Charlie Williams posted career highs as the Tribe put four players in double figures. Lowe scored 15 of his 22 points in the second half, connecting on 9-of-13 from the floor. He added team-highs of seven rebounds, six assists and three steals.
Dorsey tallied 18 of his career-high 27 in the second 20 minutes. The sharpshooter hit 6-of-12 from long range and was a perfect 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.
Williams posted an impressive 15-point, seven-rebound and six-assist stat line in 26 minutes. The Carmel, Ind., native was a near-perfect 7-of-8 from the field. Sophomore guard Trey Moss finished with 17 points in the victory.
Trailing by one at the half, W&M hit nine of its first 10 shots in the second half to surge in front. Seven of those nine makes came in the paint. A Charlie Williams jump hook to start the frame put the Tribe on top for good as W&M scored the half’s first six points, all in the paint.
As part of an extended 21-6 run to start the half, W&M ended the stretch with 10 points in a row. Gabe Dorsey punctuated the run with a 4-point play, knocking down a right-wing triple while getting fouled. His free throw at the 14:11 mark pushed the lead to 62-48.
UMBC (3-4) used an 8-0 run, including five from the free throw line, to close to within eight, 81-73, at the 3:50 mark, but Dorsey responded with a left-wing 3-pointer. The Tribe broke the Retriever pressure to re-establish a double-digit lead, which it did not relinquish the rest of the way.
After allowing UMBC to shoot 53.3% from long range in the opening half, W&M limited the visitors to just 2-of-12 from deep in the final 20 minutes. On the other side, W&M hit 19 of its 28 second-half shots and assisted on 11 of those made field goals.
“The big thing we talked about at the half defensively was transition,” head coach Dane Fischer said. “I think four of their threes in the first half were in transition, and we felt we did a good job defending in the half-court. We kept them in the half-court in the second half. Offensively, we put Charlie Williams in the starting lineup in the second half and he did a nice job of getting our offense going. He and Chase have great chemistry together, and he is starting to continue to develop it with other guys. Those are the two main things we did in the second half.”
For the game, W&M shot 55.6% (35-of-63) from the floor and hit nine 3-pointers. The Tribe was also 17-of-22 (77.3%) at the free throw line. The Green and Gold held a 35-30 advantage on the glass, a 48-30 cushion on points in the paint and had just seven turnovers compared to 18 assists. Junior Caleb Dorsey shared team-high rebounding honors with seven, while sophomore Jack Karasinski had nine points and six rebounds in the win.
W&M also received key minutes from freshmen Tai Hamilton and Jayden Lemond as well as sophomore walk-on Miles Hicks in the victory.
UMBC hit five of its first seven shots from the floor, including a pair of 3-pointers, in opening a 12-3 lead just four minutes into the game on a Khydarius Smith jumper.
The Tribe answered with an 11-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Gabe Dorsey. A Charlie Williams jumper gave W&M a 14-12 lead at the 12:57 mark.
The opening 20 minutes continued in back-and-forth fashion, before a Devan Sapp 3-pointer in the final minute sent the Retrievers to the locker room with a 42-41 lead. In total, the visitors shot 51.6% (16-of-31) from the field, including 8-of-15 from long range, in the first half. Sapp knocked down half of those triples.
Smith led UMBC with 20 points, while Dion Brown had 18. Sapp, who was 5-of-9 from 3, and Marcus Banks tallied 15 points apiece. The Retrievers finished shooting 48.4% (31-of-64) to go with 10 3-pointers.
Up Next
The Tribe hits the road on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when it takes on Norfolk State at 7 p.m.
