Friday, February 7, 2025

Tribe Rolls in CAA Tournament Win over North Carolina A&T

(Tribe Athletics)

WASHINGTON — Chase Lowe turned in a first in William & Mary history and three players scored at least 18 points to lift the Tribe to a 79-62 CAA Tournament opening win over North Carolina A&T on Friday afternoon at the Entertainment and Sports Arena.

Lowe finished with 18 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and six assists. It marked the sixth game in the country this season and the first in Tribe history that a player posted a stat line of at least 18 points, 16 rebounds and six assists. His 16 rebounds also established a new W&M CAA Tournament record.

Junior Gabe Dorsey and sophomore Trey Moss each finished with 18 points as well. Dorsey knocked down five 3-pointers, while Moss was 3-of-6 from 3 and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line.

The Tribe (10-22) used a pair of big runs after the midway point of the second half to pull away from the Aggies.

After N.C. A&T (7-25) closed within three on a Landon Glasper free throw at the 9:57 mark, W&M used an 8-0 run to extend the advantage to double digits for the first time. Lowe scored five of the eight during the run. The Tribe scored twice off offensive rebounds to close the spurt. A Moss 3-pointer off a sequence of three offensive rebounds gave W&M a 58-50 lead and forced a N.C. A&T timeout with 7:56 left.

Less than a minute later, Lowe scored off of a putback and was fouled. He completed the 3-point play to give W&M an 11-point lead.

The Aggies scored four straight in close within seven, before W&M answered with an 11-1 run to put the game out of reach. Gabe Dorsey and Sean Houpt hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the margin to 13, 67-54. A Moss old-fashioned 3-point play at the 3:19 mark extended the advantage to 72-55.

The cushion ballooned to as much as 19 on a steal and fast-break dunk from Lowe with just over a minute remaining to punctuate the victory.

The Tribe shot 40.9% from the field and hit 11 3-pointers. W&M also controlled the glass to the tune of 44-41, including 14 offensive rebounds. They converted the boards into 18 second-chance points. The Green and Gold also turned the ball over just four times which is the third lowest total in school history and the fewest for a Tribe team in the CAA Tournament.

W&M limited N.C. A&T to 39.4% shooting, including just 37.5% in the second half. The Aggies were only 3-of-19 from 3-point range (15.8%). Glasper led N.C. A&T with 21 points, but was just 8-of-21 from the floor. Nikolaos Chitikoudis added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Neither team led by more than the Tribe’s five-point halftime advantage in the opening 20 minutes.

Gabe Dorsey hit a pair of 3-pointers in the opening five minutes, pacing W&M to a 10-7 lead at the 15:43 mark.

A Glasper 3-pointer put A&T in front 16-15 with 11:34 left in the opening half, but Dorsey answered with five in a row. His floater midway through the first half gave W&M a 20-16 advantage.

Chitikoudis scored four straight to open up North Carolina A&T’s largest lead at 24-21 with 6:19 remaining in the first frame. Junior Matteus Case answered with a 3-pointer to pull the Tribe even just 18 seconds later.

­­After N.C. A&T took a 30-28 lead on a Glasper jumper at the 1:57 mark, W&M scored the final seven points of the half to lead at the break. Moss scored five of the Tribe’s final seven points, including a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to push the margin to 35-30 at the break.

The Tribe advantage extended to seven points, 38-31, just over a minute into the second half on a Gabe Dorsey 3-pointer.

A&T drew within a one behind six-straight points, including four from Jalal Mckie.

A Lowe-led 6-0 Tribe run pushed the cushion back to seven. Lowe scored on an old-fashioned 3-point play, before he found Houpt for a wing 3-pointer to give the Tribe a 46-39 lead with 15:34 left.

Case rounded out the Tribe’s double-digit scorers with 11, while junior Caleb Dorsey pulled down nine rebounds and dished out three assists.

Up Next
The Tribe takes on No. 5 seed Towson in the CAA Second Round on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. from the Entertainment and Sports Arena in Washington, D.C., and the game will be broadcast on FloHoops.

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