NORFOLK — William & Mary shot 50.8% from the field, but its second-half comeback came up short, 88-83, at Old Dominion on Monday night.
Following an eight-day break over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Tribe (3-6) trailed at the half, 38-36, following a Monarch buzzer-beating one-handed 3-pointer. The deficit reached 12 points, 62-50, with 7:51 left and was 76-66 with 1:59 left.
The Tribe traded threes for twos over five possessions with a Keller Boothby 3-pointer and back-to-back 3-point plays from Noah Collier and Kyle Pulliam to cut the gap to five, 80-75, just a minute later.
W&M twice drew within three points in the final 16 seconds. The final time, 86-83, came on a Pulliam lay-up with 5.9 seconds remaining. The junior guard was fouled on the play and intentionally missed the free throw. The rebound came off and W&M got two different hands to it, but the tap landed in the hands of the Monarch’s Robert Davis, Jr. He was fouled and hit two free throws to ice the game.
The Tribe shot 58.6% from the field in the second half to finish at 50.8% (31-of-61) overall. Collier once again led W&M with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go with four rebounds and four assists. Pulliam scored 15 points off the bench, while senior Gabe Dorsey added 12 points on 3-of-4 from 3-point range.
Sean Durugordon led all scorers with a career-high 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting for ODU (3-6). He was one of six Monarchs in double-figures as R.J. Blakney had 13, Jaden Johnson added 12 points and eight assists, and Stephaun Walker tallied a 10-point, 13-rebound double-double.
Old Dominion finished the night with season-highs of 48.5% (32-of-66) from the field, 42.9% (9-of-21) from 3, and 88.2% (15-of-17) at the free throw line. The Monarchs held a 40-28 advantage on the glass and dished out a season-high 20 assists.
The Tribe opened up its largest lead at 32-27 on a corner fastbreak 3-pointer from Dorsey with 3:13 remaining in the opening half.
The Monarchs hit four of their final five shots of the opening half, including a trio of 3-pointers. The final of the sequence was a deep one-handed buzzer-beater from Devin Ceaser to give ODU a 38-36 lead at the half.
A 6-0 ODU run capped by a steal and fastbreak dunk from Blakney stretched the lead to double-digits for the first time at 50-40 four minutes into the second half.
The deficit was as much as 12 points, 62-50, following a Sean Durugordon triple with 7:51 left. Five quick Tribe points, including a Dorsey 3-pointer, cut the margin to seven less than a minute later.
Graduate student Malachi Ndur finished with eight points and team-highs of eight rebounds and four assists. Boothby also had eight points, all in the second half, and freshman Isaiah Mbeng added career-highs of four assists and four steals.
Up Next
The Tribe returns home for the first time in 22 days when it welcomes Virginia Lynchburg to Williamsburg on Wednesday, Dec. 4. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on FloCollege. It will be 70’s Night in Kaplan Arena.
