WILLIAMSBURG — Rashad King hit a setback jumper with five seconds remaining to spoil Senior Day as William & Mary suffered a 70-68 setback to Northeastern in the regular season finale.
The lead changed six times over the final eight minutes, including for the final time on a JD Frankel 3-pointer with 2:55 left to give Northeastern (17-14, 9-9 CAA) at 67-65 lead.
The Tribe (17-14, 11-7 CAA) tied the game at 68 on a lay-up from junior Chase Lowe with 34.2 seconds remaining. He was fouled on the play but could not complete the 3-point play.
The Huskies worked the clock before King stepped back at the elbow and knocked down a jumper to put the visitor on top for good.
Senior Gabe Dorsey had a look from just inside half court at the buzzer, but the shot bounced off the back rim.
Senior Caleb Dorsey led the Tribe with a career-high 20 points to go with five rebounds. He was a perfect 7-of-7 from the floor and 5-of-5 at the free throw line. Senior Matteus Case scored 11 points, while freshman Isaiah Mbeng added eight points and five assists off the bench.
The Tribe finished the game shooting 47.9% (23-of-48) from the floor but connected at just 31.6% (6-of-19) and 66.7% (16-of-24) clips from 3-point range and the free throw line, respectively. W&M also turned the ball over 25 times that led to 19 Northeastern points. The Tribe held a slim 33-32 advantage on the glass.
Northeastern shot 48.5% (16-of-33) in the second half and finished at 43.1% (25-of-58) for the game. King led all scorers with 22 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 at the free throw line, to go with six assists. Harold Woods finished with a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double.
The Tribe started hot, hitting its first five shots from the floor. Graduate student Keller Boothby and Caleb Dorsey hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game. Mbeng connected on the third triple of the opening sequence to stretch the lead to 13-4 just over three minutes into the game.
W&M’s lead reached double-digits for the first time at 21-10 midway through the half on a Mbeng steal that led to a fast-break Case dunk.
Northeastern used a 9-0 run to draw within two. King converted a 3-point play and a Willi Kermoury 3-pointer at the 5:48 mark sliced the margin to 25-23.
The Tribe answered with a 10-2 spurt of its own to extend the lead back to double digits. Caleb Dorsey scored half W&M’s points during the stretch, including a 3-point play with 1:23 left in the half to give W&M a 37-27 lead. The Green and Gold maintained that 10-point advantage, 41-31, to the intermission thanks to a Caleb Dorsey lay-up in the closing seconds.
Junior Finn Lally scored six-straight W&M points to help the home team maintain a double-digit advantage in the second half. His final bucket of the sequence gave the Tribe a 53-42 lead at the 14:04 mark.
NU scored eight in a row as part of a 12-2 run to pull within one. Woods scored five straight, including a corner 3-pointer with 12:53 left to cut the gap to 53-50. Back-to-back steals led to fast-break baskets for the Huskies, including a Frankel lay-up midway through the frame to draw the visitors within one, 55-54.
The Huskies took their first lead of the game at 60-59 on a pair of King free throws at the 8:18 mark.
Up Next
The Tribe will be the No. 4 seed in the 2025 Jersey Mike’s CAA Championship, March 7-11, at the Care First Arena in Washington, D.C., and receive a double bye into the quarterfinals. W&M’s first game will be on Sunday afternoon, March 9, at 2:30 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on FloCollege. The Tribe will play No. 5 seed Campbell, No. 12 Delaware or No. 13 Stony Book in the quarterfinals. Delaware and Stony Brook meet at 2 p.m. on Friday, March 7, to open the tournament, and the winner meets Campbell on Saturday, March 8, at 2:30 p.m. Visit TribeAthletics.com/MarchOnTribe to stay up-to-date on all the happening in D.C. for the CAA Championship.
