WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary dropped a CAA home game to UNCW, 81-65, on Thursday night at Kaplan Arena. The Seahawks used a run in the final five minutes of the opening half and another in the first five minutes of the second to pull away from the Green and Gold.
Junior Caleb Dorsey led the Tribe (8-20, 3-12 CAA) with 14 points on 5-of-9 from the floor, while sophomore Trey Moss added 12 points. Graduate student Sean Houpt hit 3-of-6 from 3-point range and tallied nine points, and junior Matteus Case had eight points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Four Seahawks scored in double figures led by Shykeim Phillips’s game-high 19 points to go along with five assists. KJ Jenkins added 18 points, while Trazarien White and Maleeck Harden-Hayes chipped in 14 each.
The majority of the opening half was back and forth with six ties and six lead changes in the opening 16 minutes.
UNCW (20-7, 11-4 CAA) hit four of five shots as part of a 9-2 run to take an 11-5 lead at the 15:17 mark. White scored the final five of the run.
W&M answered with seven straight to retake the lead six minutes into the contest. Chase Lowe scored on back-to-back lay-ups, before Houpt knocked down a wing 3-pointer.
The games was tied for the final time at 27 with 4:10 left in the first half on a Jayden Lemond driving lay-up.
Harden-Hayes and Donovan Newby hit back-to-back 3-pointers as part of a 12-2 UNCW run, helping the visitor open up a double-digit lead. Phillips capped the run with six-straight points, including back-to-back fastbreak buckets, to give the Seahawks a 39-29 lad with 1:38 left in the opening frame.
Both teams shot 50% in the opening 20 minutes. The Tribe hit 13-of-26 from the floor, while the Seahawks connected at a 53.1% clip (17-of-32).
UNCW opened up its largest lead of the game at 59-42 on the strength of an 8-0 run. Jenkins capped the spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers to force a W&M timeout just five minutes into the second half.
The Tribe responded with a 12-2 run to draw back within single digits. Houpt hit a pair of 3-pointers during the run, before a Moss corner triple cut the deficit to 61-54 with 11:47 left.
Phillips answered with driving lay-ups on the Seahawks next two possessions to re-establish the visitor’s double-digit lead, 65-54.
W&M drew within 68-60 with 6:12 left on a Chase Lowe lay-up. UNCW hit three of its final five shots from the floor and each of its final six free throws to secure its sixth win in the last seven games.
The Seahawks shot 49.1% on the night, hit 10 3-pointers and added 17-of-20 (85%) at the free throw line. UNCW finished with just four turnovers and zero in the second half. W&M shot 45.6% and hit 7-of-20 from 3.
Up Next
The Tribe returns to action when it travels to Stony Brook on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in New York and the game will be streamed on FloHoops.
