Tuesday, December 3, 2024

Balance, Long-Range Shooting Lifts Tribe to Win over Norfolk State

(Tribe Athletics)

WILLIAMSBURG — William & Mary used a balanced scoring attack and 3-point shooting to pick up a comfortable 84-73 win against in-state foe Norfolk State on Tuesday night at Kaplan Arena.

All 11 Tribe players who saw action scored at least three points and 10 of them tallied five or more. W&M (2-1) tied a school-record with 46 3-pointers attempted, and its 16 made triples are the sixth most in program history. All told, W&M outscored Norfolk State, 48-3, from beyond the 3-point line.

Junior Kyle Frazier was the only Tribe player in double figures with 18 points off the bench on 5-of-8 from long range. Juniors Kyle Pulliam and Finn Lally notched nine points apiece off the bench as well. Each of them hit a pair of 3-pointers, while Lally added two blocked shots.

The Tribe (2-1) never trailed after scoring the game’s first four points. A 7-0 run sparked by a Keller Boothby 3-pointer pushed the lead to 15-7 just eight minutes into the contest.

W&M seized control and a double-digit advantage that it would never relinquish by scoring on five-straight possession, including three 3-pointers to start the stretch. A trio of Frazier free throws extended the Tribe lead to 29-17 at 8:51 mark of the first half.

The home team continued to expand the gap in the opening 20 minutes. Frazier and junior Miles Hicks connected on back-to-back 3-pointers before the under four-minute media timeout to balloon the cushion to 43-23.

The lead reached as much as 22, 47-25, in the first half on a Hicks coast-to-coast layup with 1:34 remaining.

The Tribe margin increased to its highest of the night with 8:10 remaining on Gabe Dorsey’s first 3-pointer of the evening.

The Spartans, who entered the game 3-0 off an 83-69 win over James Madison, never threatened in the second half. The Tribe lead was double-digits for the entire of the final 20 minutes with NSU never drawing closer than the final margin of 11.

The Tribe held a 40-33 advantage on the glass and handed out 22 assists on its 30 made field goals. W&M also got 51 of its 84 points from its reserves.

Dorsey just missed a double-double with eight points and a career-high nine rebounds, tallying two assists as well. Seniors Noah Collier and Matteus Case each had seven points on the night, while Boothby added eight points and six rebounds.

W&M finished the night at 44.8% (30-of-67) from the floor. On the other side, NSU shot 45% (27-of-60) overall and hit 18-of-23 (78.3%) at the free throw line, but were just 1-of-14 (7.1%) from 3-point range. Brian Moore, Jr. led all scorers with 31 points for the Spartans.

Up Next
The Tribe hits the road for three games as part of the Rock Hill Classic, Nov. 15-17. W&M opens with host Winthrop at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, before facing North Carolina Central on Saturday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m., and Georgia Southern on Sunday, Nov. 17, at noon.

The opener will be available on the Tribe Sports Network with Jack Angelucci on the call. Locally in Williamsburg, fans can listen in on The Tide 92.3 FM. No video stream will be available for Friday night’s game with the Eagles.

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