
WILMINGTON, N.C. — William & Mary’s six-game win streak came to an end at UNCW, 85-74, as part of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Day matinee on CBS Sports Network.
The Seahawks (14-5, 4-2 CAA), who shot 50% from the floor, built as much as a 15-point second-half lead. The Tribe battled back to draw within seven, 65-58, with nine minutes to go, but could not get any closer despite hitting 13 3-pointers.
Senior Tribeled the Tribe with 18 points on 5-of-10 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers. Junior Kyle Pulliam tallied 12 points off the bench to go with four assists.
Dorsey scored W&M’s first six points and the Tribe (11-8, 5-1 CAA) led 8-4 after Pulliam jumper at the 16:39 mark.
The Seahawks used a 9-0 run capped by a Donovan Newby 3-pointer to open up an 18-11 lead with 12:29 left in the opening half. The UNCW senior guard scored eight of his team’s opening 18 points.
The UNCW advantage reached 10, 37-27, on a pair of Greedy Williams free throws with just under five minutes remaining in the half. Junior Kyle Frazier scored five-straight points, and his left-wing 3-pointer at the 2:20 mark cut the margin to 41-35.
UNCW scored first four points out of the locker room, pushing the margin to back to 10, 47-37, on a Bo Montgomery lay-up.
A Malachi Ndur 3-pointer followed by a Gabe Dorsey pull-up jumper cut the deficit to 49-44 just 2:39 into the second half.
UNCW answered with a quick 8-0 run to re-establish a double-digit advantage.The Seahawks converted back-to-back transition lay-ups, including one from Montgomery, to extend the lead to 57-44 with 14:13 left.
The Seahawks lead reached its largest, 62-47, at the 11:25 mark on a Harlan Obioha bucket in the paint.
W&M did not go quietly hitting 3-pointers on three-straight possessions. Graduate student Keller Boothby made a pair, before senior Mattues Case knocked down one from the top of the key to narrow the margin to nine. Senior Noah Collier capped the run with a pair of free throws to bring W&M within 65-58 with nine minutes left.
The Tribe twice closed within seven the final minute, including on another Case triple with 56.8 left. UNCW, which did not make a field goal over the final 5:39, hit 12-of-15 at the free throw line over the final 2:53 to keep the preserve the victory.
Montgomery led all scorers with a season-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go with seven rebounds. Newby added 18 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-6 from 3, and 7-of-7 at the free throw line. Khamari McGriff and Obioha finished in double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
UNCW shot 50% (28-of-56) from the floor and was 25-of-32 (78.1%) from the free throw line. The Seahawks had a 41-31 advantage on the glass and a 38-18 cushion on points in the paint.
The Tribe finished at 40% (24-of-60) from the floor, including 13-of-33 from 3. Freshman Isaiah Mbeng tallied eight points, three rebounds, three assists, and three steals before fouling out, while Case added eight points and five rebounds, starting in place of Chase Lowe who missed the game due to injury.
Up Next
The Tribe returns home to Kaplan Arena to host Hampton on Thursday, Jan. 23, afternoon at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. W&M fans can also follow the action over the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley and Bobby Dwyer on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM is the flagship station of the Tribe Sports Network in Williamsburg.