BALTIMORE —Despite a Noah Collier double-double and a second-half William & Mary comeback, UMBC won its sixth game in a row, topping the Tribe, 78-62, at Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Collier led the way for the Green and Gold with his third career double-double. The 6-8 forward scored 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and added a career-high 14 rebounds, including six on the offensive end.
W&M (4-8) trailed by as much as 13 in the opening half and the deficit as 12, 43-31, at the break. The Tribe started the second half strong with back-to-back Gabe Dorsey 3-pointers, narrowing the gap to 45-39 just over two minutes into the period.
Freshman Chase Lowe, who gave W&M a big spark off the bench, found junior bigman Ben Wight for a lay-up at the 12-minute mark to bring the Tribe within 54-50. Wight had the chance to cut the deficit to a single basket, but missed a good look on the ensuing possession.
The deficit was just five, 61-56, following a nice drop-step lay-up from Collier at the 6:36 mark. UMBC (9-4) answered with a 10-1 run to put the game out of reach.
Dorsey finished with 13 points on 3-of-7 from 3-point range, while graduate student Anders Nelson tallied 10 points and five assists. Sophomore Matteus Case tied his career-high with 10 points off the bench.
The Tribe jumped out to a 7-0 lead thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers from Nelson and Dorsey in the opening 2:06 of the game.
UMBC used a 16-2 run, including 12-straight points, to take a double-double advantage, 24-13, midway through the first half. Colton Lawrence scored the Retrievers first 10 points and had 12 of the home team’s first 24.
The margin reached 33-20 after back-to-back Yaw Obeng-Mensah jumpers with 5:30 remaining in the opening half.
The Tribe closed to within 35-29 on a Collier bucket just three and a half minutes later. It was part of a 9-2 Tribe run, including five-straight from Nelson.
UMBC, which shot 60.7% in the opening 20 minutes, scored eight of the half’s last 10 points, including six from Jacob Boonyasith to lead by 12 at the intermission.
W&M finished the game at 41.1% (23-of-56) from the field and outrebounded UMBC, 33-29, including 11 rebounds on the offensive end. The home team finished at 53.6% (30-of-56) shooting. Boonyasith scored a game-high 19 points, while Lawrence added 14.
Up Next
The Tribe closes out the nonconference portion of its schedule when it welcomes Randolph College to Williamsburg on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
