WASHINGTON, D.C. — William & Mary knocked down 18 3-pointers and led for the majority of the first half, but George Washington staved off a late Tribe rally to win a barn burner, 95-89, on Saturday afternoon inside the Charles E. Smith Center.
Five Tribe (2-1) players scored in double figures led by graduate student Sean Houpt’s 17. Sophomore Chase Lowe tallied a career-high 16 points to go with eight rebounds off the bench, while classmate Charlie Williams posted 12 points on 4-of-7 from 3-point range and career-high eight assists.
W&M’s 18 3-pointers are the third-most in school history. Junior Gabe Dorsey knocked down five of those 3-pointers in finishing with 15 points. Sophomore Trey Moss rounded out the Tribe’s double-digit scorers with 11 points to go with four rebound and five assists.
Despite leading for the majority of the opening 20 minutes, the Tribe trailed at the break as George Washington (2-0) closed the first half on an 11-2 run. The Revolutionaries took a 43-42 lead to the locker room on a steal and fast-break lay-up from Trey Autry with 51 seconds left in the first half.
Less than three minutes into the second half, the Tribe retook the lead at 48-46 on a Dorsey 3-pointer, but the home team answered to surge in front. A Jacoi Hutchinson triple put GW on top for good at 51-48, and back-to-back driving lay-ups from Darren Buchanan and James Bishop extended the margin to seven.
After a Williams’ triple closed the gap to three, the Revs responded with a 16-2 run led by Buchanan to push the lead to its largest at 73-56 with 8:51 remaining. GW hit seven of its eight shots during the stretch, and Buchanan tallied seven of his career-high 13.
The Tribe would not go quietly, cutting the deficit to as little as four in the final 30 seconds. Trailing, 88-74, with 1:19 remaining, W&M used a 9-1 run over a 38-second stretch to close within six. Houpt scored seven during the spurt, including a pair of free throws with 38 seconds remaining made it, 89-83. During the stretch, the Tribe was 3-of-4 from the floor and forced GW into a pair of turnovers.
Another GW turnover off a Moss steal led to a Chase Lowe lay-up with 11 seconds remaining as the Tribe closed to within 93-89.
The Revolutionaries shot 59.3% in the second half and finished the game right at 50% (28-of-56). They did the majority of their damage in the paint, outscoring the Tribe, 40-24, and at the free throw line, hitting 33-of-38 (86.8%). Bishop led all scorers with 32 points, while Maximus Edwards and Garret Johnson each added 15.
The Tribe led for the majority of the opening 20 minutes. W&M took control with an 8-0 run, sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Dorsey and Houpt. A Chase Lowe lay-up at the 15:05 mark gave the visitor at 17-9 lead.
W&M’s first-half lead reach as much as nine on two different occasions. A Moss 3-pointer just over seven minutes into the game put the Tribe on top, 20-11, and an old-fashion 3-point play from Lowe made it 30-21 with 8:50 left.
As a team, the Tribe dished out 23 assists on its 31 made field goals and held a 38-36 advantage on the glass. Freshman Tai Hamilton finished with seven rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench.
Up Next
The Tribe travels to Colorado next week to take part in the Air Force Classic. W&M faces Omaha to open the event on Thursday, Nov. 16, at 9 p.m. ET. The Tribe also take on Air Force on Friday, Nov. 17, and Lindenwood on Sunday, Nov. 19.
