HIGH POINT (N.C.) — William & Mary (W&M) men’s basketball dropped the opening game of the Roman Legends Classic to Sun Belt Conference favorite Georgia State, 77-59, on Saturday evening at the Qubein Center on the campus of High Point.
Sophomore Connor Kochera led the Tribe with a season-high 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 5-of-7 at the free throw line. Classmate Ben Wight added 14 points on 7-of-11 from the floor01 to go with six rebounds.
The Panthers hit their first five shots from the floor, but the Tribe trailed just 12-7 less than four minutes into the contest following a Kochera free throw. GSU answered with a 7-0 run to open up a 19-7 lead at the 14:12 mark.
Georgia State, which shot 55.2% (15-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes, seized control of the contest with an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 41-19 and force a Tribe timeout with 3:44 left in the first half. In total, the Panthers used the fast break to its advantage, scoring 17 points in transition over the first 20 minutes.
W&M turned in a strong performance on the defensive end in the second half. The Tribe held GSU to 40.7% shooting and forced the Panthers into 12 turnovers.
Graduate student Brandon Carroll topped the Tribe with eight rebounds. Freshman Julian Lewis scored a career-high eight points, and classmate Tyler Rice added a team-high five assists.
The Tribe wraps up play in the consolation game of the Legends Classic against Howard on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can listen in to the broadcast over the Tribe Sports Network on The Tide 92.3 FM with Blaine McCormick on the call.
Click here to see the box score