BALL GAME! W&M advances to its fifth straight CAA Semifinal with an 80-64 victory over Towson! #RisingTribe pic.twitter.com/E5lo9QIj9P
— William & Mary Tribe Men's Basketball (@WMTribeMBB) March 4, 2018
William & Mary men’s basketball has a date with the College of Charleston in a semifinal matchup Monday.
Senior point guard David Cohn led the No. 4-seeded William & Mary men’s basketball to its fifth-straight Colonial Athletic Association semifinal appearance thanks to a complete victory, 80-66, over No. 5-seeded Towson on Sunday afternoon at the North Charleston Coliseum. After falling to the Tigers (18-14) twice during the regular season, the Green and Gold (19-11) led wire-to-wire in the quarterfinal victory behind a strong defensive performance, controlling the glass and timely shooting.
Cohn, who was an All-CAA Third Team pick on Friday, showed first-team stuff on Sunday, pouring in a game-high 24 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. He was nearly perfect shooting the ball, going 8-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from 3 and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. He paced four Tribe players in doubles figures as sophomore Nathan Knight added a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double.
W&M roared out of the gates, hitting nine of its first 13 from the floor and used a 13-3 run open up a double-digit lead midway through the opening half. Four different players scored during the spurt, including three with a triple. Sophomore Matt Milon, who scored five during the run, increased the lead to 22-11 at the 12:03 mark with a pull-up jumper from the right side.
Knight sparked a seven-point run to extend the lead. He converted an old-fashion 3-point play and knocked down two more free throws to push the margin to 31-15 with 8:15 left in the half. The Tigers pieced together a seven-point run of its own to narrow the margin to 36-28 with 2:33 remaining on a Dennis Tunstall lay-up. The Green and Gold advantage was nine, 41-32, at the break.
Towson scored seven of the first eight points to start the second half, drawing within three. The Tigers scored five in a row and then cut the gap to 42-39 on a Justin Gorham dunk three minutes into the frame.
Cohn sparked a pair of Tribe runs to re-established a double-digit margin and put the game away. He scored four-straight points, before finding Rowley in the right corner for a triple to cap a 9-0 run and push the W&M’s lead to 51-39 with 12:38 left.
The Elmhurst, Ill., native put the game on ice, scoring five points in a 35-second stretch and dishing to senior Connor Burchfield for a wing 3-pointer during an 8-0 spurt. Cohn knocked down a corner triple off a Knight tip out, and converted a fast-break lay-up off a Milon steal to force a Towson timeout at the 8:19 mark. Burchfield’s wing 3-pointer on the break extended the lead to its largest at 64-46.
Individual Players Spotlight
Senior guard David Cohn poured in a game-high 24 points to go along with seven assists and six rebounds. Sophomore Nathan Knight tallied his 16 points mainly from the free throw line, hitting 10-of-11, to go with 12 rebounds. Senior Connor Burchfield and sophomore Matt Milon rounded out the double-digit scorers with 15 and 13 points, respectively. Burchfield was 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range.
Zane Martin led Towson with 18 points and nine assists, while Justin Gorham recorded a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double.
By the Numbers
– W&M shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including a 47.8-percent clip in the second half. Defensively, the Tribe held Towson to 40.9 percent (27-of-66) shooting and just 6-of-25 (24 percent) from 3-point range.
– The Tribe knocked down 11 3-pointers, hitting 44 percent (11-of-25) from deep. The total is the second best for W&M in a CAA Tournament game, while it is the program’s 17th double-digit 3-point game of the season. The Tribe is 14-3 when hitting 10 or more triples.
– W&M was a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line in the first half and finished the game at 87.5 percent (21-of-24), the second-best percentage for a Tribe team in the CAA Tournament.
– The Green and Gold outrebounded Towson, 37-34, in the win.
Notes
The Tribe advanced to the CAA Semifinals for the fifth-straight season and seventh time under head coach Tony Shaver … With its 80 points on Sunday, W&M established a new school record for total points with 2,563 … Senior David Cohn recorded his ninth 20-point game of the season … His seven assists tied the Tribe’s CAA Tournament record … Cohn made his first three free throws in the quarterfinal to extended his consecutive streak to a school-record 41, which is also the second longest in CAA history and just four away from the record … Cohn’s 8-of-9 shooting (88.9 percent) was the second best in the Tribe’s CAA Tournament history … Sophomore Nathan Knight tallied his ninth double-double of the season … His 12 rebounds are fourth-best total in the Tribe’s CAA Tournament history … Knight’s 10 free throws and 90.9 (10-of-11) percent at the charity stripe, both ranked second in the Tribe’s CAA Tournament history.
Up Next
The Tribe advances to the CAA Semifinals for the fifth-straight season and takes on No. 1 seed Charleston at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 5. The game will be televised on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan, Jordan Cornette and Jenny Dell on the call.
Tribe fans can also catch the men’s basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com. Stay up to date on all the information in Charleston by visiting TribeAthletics.com/
