Behind another stout defensive effort and 61 combined points from its junior class, William & Mary won its 10th league game for the sixth-straight season, disposing of James Madison, 70-66, in the regular-season finale on Saturday afternoon. The Tribe closed the regular season by winning seven of its last nine games, including its current five-game win streak.
Junior Justin Pierce flirted with a triple-double finishing with 14 points, a career-high 18 rebounds and eight assists, while classmate Nathan Knightjust missed a double-double with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting and nine rebounds. Matt Milon rounded out the junior triumvirate with 18 points on 5-of-7 from 3-point range.
Defensively, the Green and Gold limited the Dukes (13-18, 6-12 CAA) to only 36.2 percent (25-of-69) from the field and 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range. On the other side, the Tribe (14-16, 10-8 CAA) shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the decisive second half, including 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) from 3-point range, and finished the game at 49 percent (25-of-51) overall.
With the win, W&M secured double-digit CAA wins for the sixth-straight season. The Tribe is the only current league member and just the fifth program overall (on six occasions) to win double-digit CAA games in six consecutive years. The Green and Gold also locked up the No. 4 seed in next week’s CAA Championship and earned a top-four spot in the league standings for the sixth year in a row as well.
How It Happened
– Knight scored the Tribe’s first 10 points. The Green and Gold tallied six in a row to open up a 10-4 lead and force a JMU timeout with 11:36 left in the first half. Freshman L.J. Owens found Knight for an easy deuce before sophomore Jihar Williams hit him in transition for a lay-up.
– The Dukes twice drew within one on Stuckey Mosley triple, 10-9, at the 10:39 mark and a Dwight Wilson lay-up, 15-14, two and a half minutes later.
– Milon canned back-to-back 3-pointers to extend the Green and Gold cushion to 21-14 with 7:24 left in the first half.
– JMU answered with a 9-2 run to draw even. Matt Lewis, who finished with 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting, capped the run with an old-fashion 3-point play, hitting a jumper and drawing the foul. His free throw tied the game at 23 at 3:22 remaining.
– The Tribe scored five straight including a right-wing Milon 3-pointer, and the visitors led 29-26 at the half.
– Knight scored the opening bucket of the second half, but JMU ripped off seven-straight points to take the lead. Lewis started the run with a 3-pointer before a pair of Greg Jones free throws tied the game at 31. Off a Jones steal, Deshon Parker scored in transition to give the home team a 33-31 lead and force a W&M timeout with 16:47 left.
– The Tribe used a 17-4 run to retake the lead and extended it to double-digits. Pierce and Knight fed each other for back-to-back dunks to give W&M the lead once again. Pierce added a second dunk during the stretch before Law Student Paul Rowley scored on a reverse lay-up with 11:56 remaining to extend W&M’s advantage to 43-37.
– Knight converted back-to-back buckets in the paint, and Milon knocked down a right-wing 3-pointer to cap the run and to push the lead to 50-39 at the 10:09 mark.
– JMU answered with a 10-1 run to close within four. Matthew Urbach and Lewis hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the margin to five. Wilson, who tallied a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds, scored four in a row, including a putback at the 6:41 mark, to cut the gap to 51-49.
– Rowley silenced the Duke momentum with a 3-pointer from the right-wing behind a Knight screen. Pierce and Knight combined for back-to-back dunks, extending the lead to 58-52 with 2:49 remaining.
– Milon and sophomore Luke Loewe drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to push the advantage to 64-55 with 1:06 left.
– JMU used a 9-3 run to close within three, 69-66, on a Mosley lay-up with 4.5 seconds remaining.
– Owens knocked down a free throw with just 4.2 ticks left to extend the margin to its final spread of 70-66.
Inside the Numbers
– The Tribe shot 60 percent (15-of-25) from the field in the decisive second half to finish the contest at 49 percent (25-of-51) overall.
– Defensively, the Tribe held JMU to 30.3 percent (10-of-33) in the first half and 36.2 percent (25-of-69) for the game.
– The Dukes hit just 6-of-23 (26.1 percent) from 3-point range, while the Tribe connected on a 42.1 percent (8-of-19) clip, including 4-of-6 (66.7 percent) in the second half.
– W&M dished out 18 assists on its 25 made field goals, including 13 on 15 field goals in the second half.
– JMU outrebounded W&M 43-39, including a 15 offensive rebounds. They outscored the Tribe 16-8 in second-chance points.
Notes
The Tribe recorded its 42nd all-time win streak of five or more games and 16th since 1970 … W&M secured its 10th CAA win for a sixth-straight season … The Green and Gold is the fifth CAA program on the sixth occasion to win 10 or more league games in six consecutive seasons … The streak of six straight is the fourth-longest in CAA history and the longest since Mason did it from 2008-13 … Junior Justin Pierce pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds … It is the most rebounds for a W&M player since 1996 and the fourth most since 1973 … It marked Pierce’s ninth double-double of the year and the 16th of his career … With his 29 points, Knight pushed his season total to 630 which ranks fifth in program history … Junior Matt Milon connected on five 3-pointers and moved into sole possession of 10th place on the Tribe’s career list with 163 passing current Tribe assistant coach Julian Boatner … With its 18 assists, W&M surpassed the 500 mark for the fourth-straight season … The Tribe’s 511 assists this season rank third in program history … The Tribe knocked down eight 3-pointers to move up to eighth on the single-season list with 245 on the year.
Up Next
– The Tribe will be the No. 4 seed in the CAA Championship and will meet No. 5 seed Delaware in the quarterfinals on Sunday, March 10. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. from the North Charleston Coliseum.
– The game will be streamed online at CAA.TV.
– Tribe fans can 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.
– It’s March which means it’s time to get prepared for the CAA Tournament in Charleston by visiting TribeAthletics.com/
