RALEIGH, N.C. — Senior Noah Collier scored a career-high 25 points, but William & Mary’s second-half comeback fell short at NC State, 84-61, on Friday night.
Collier was 9-of-16 from the floor, including hitting his first career 3-pointer, and 6-of-7 at the free throw line. It marked his third career 20-point game and he added a team-high seven rebounds. Senior Gabe Dorsey was the only other player in double figures for the Tribe with 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers.
W&M (3-4) trailed by 20 points with 14:18 remaining, but closed to within seven with 5:29 left. A personal 7-0 run from Collier capped a 10-2 run to whittle the deficit to single digits. His 3-point play at 5:29 mark narrowed the gap to 59-52.
NC State (5-0) answered with an 9-0 run in just over a minute as part of a 16-2 extended run to put the game out of reach. Hill scored five during the run, including a 3-play at the 4:21 mark, pushing the home team’s lead to 68-52.
For the game, the Wolfpack shot 48.4% (31-of-64) from the field and forced W&M into 21 turnovers with 13 steals. NC State scored 29 points off Tribe turnovers. Hill led five players in double figures for the home team with 19 points. Dontrez Styles and Jayden Taylor each had 12 points, while Ben Middlebrooks added 11 and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield just missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds.
W&M (3-4) shot 37.3% (22-of-59) from the field and hit seven 3-pointers. The Green and Gold was 10-of-12 (83.3%) at the free throw line.
The Tribe used a 7-1 run to take an early lead just over two minutes into the contest. A wing triple from Dorsey put W&M in front, before a Collier putback gave the visitor a 7-3 lead.
The Wolfpack responded with a 15-0 run, holding a Tribe scoreless for six minutes. Hill tallied six during the run, including a 3-point play at 13:14, before a Michael O’Connell steal and fastbreak layup gave the home team an 18-7 lead at the 12:33 mark.
The NC State lead jumped to 20 behind an 8-0 run. Trey Parker and Taylor bookended the spurt with 3-pointers to push the home team’s advantage to 35-15 with 4:24 left in the opening half.
W&M trailed 43-24 at the half, but used an early 7-0 run in the second half cut the deficit to 13 following a Malachi Ndur wing 3-pointer at the 16:43 mark.
NC State answered with a 7-0 run of their own to retake a 20-point lead. Hill’s fastbreak lay-up nearly six minutes into the second half upped the advantage to 51-31.
W&M scored six in a row as part of a 9-2 run to draw back within 13. Freshman Isaiah Mbeng scored five during the run, before a steal and fastbreak dunk from Kyle Pulliam closed the gap to 53-40 and forced a Wolfpack timeout with 11:51 left.
Up Next
The Tribe continues its weekend road trip to the Tar Heel State in Boone at App State on Sunday, Nov. 24. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Fans can follow the action over the Tribe Sports Network with Jack Angelucci on the call. Locally in Williamsburg, fans can listen in on The Tide 92.3 FM.
