WILLIAMSBURG - Jake Phillips (Warm Springs, Va.) passed for two touchdowns, and the William and Mary defense came up with two big fourth quarter stops to secure a 27-22 victory over Towson in CAA Football action Saturday afternoon at Zable Stadium.

Phillips passed for 179 yards and also rushed for a season-high 42 yards to help W&M (3-2, 1-1 CAA) win its first home conference game since 2005. The Tribe also snapped a three-game losing streak in league games.

Towson (2-3, 0-3) pulled within 27-22 on Sean Schaefer's 29-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Harrison with 10:55 remaining, but the Tigers couldn't avoid their third consecutive conference loss and fifth-straight defeat in the series.

Tony Viola (Broadway, Va.) rushed for 24 yards on six carries, including a 2-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that proved to be the difference. Thomas Schonder (Round Hill, Va.) gained 20 hard yards on seven attempts, which primarily came in the final quarter as the Tribe tried to chew up clock.

After Harrison's touchdown reception, W&M regained possession at its 33-yard line and behind Viola and Schonder, ran off over five minutes of game clock before punting from the Towson 32-yard line. David Miller's (Centreville, Va.) punt was downed at the Tigers' 9-yard line, and after an initial first down on the drive, Towson stalled at its own 26-yard line.

The Tigers would get one more crack at a potential game-winning drive, taking over at their own 47-yard line with 1:24 remaining. Schaefer, who completed 21-of-40 attempts for 208 yards, connected with Paul Perry for 25 yards to move Towson to the Tribe's 16-yard line in the final minute. After a short run on first down, three-straight attempts by Schaefer fell incomplete against the Tribe defense, which also picked off the Towson quarterback three times.

Derek Cox (Greenville, N.C.) had two of the Tribe's interceptions, and Sean Lissemore (Dumont, N.J.) recorded his first career pick. David Caldwell (Montclair, N.J.) led the defensive effort with 14 total tackles, including 10 unassisted stops.

Trailing 13-0, the Tribe awoke with a furious second-quarter rally, scoring 17 points in a three-minute, 46-second span. Brian Pate's (Fredericksburg, Va.) 36-yard field goal at the 5:46 mark of the second cut the deficit to 13-3, before Lissemore's interception at the Tribe's 11-yard line ended the Tigers' next possession.

Phillips followed with an 18-yard pass to R.J. Archer (Charlottesville, Va.) on first down, and a 10-yard strike to Joe Nicholas (Sugarloaf, Pa.) to reach the Tribe 39. After an incompletion, Phillips hit Elliott Mack (Irvington, N.J.) in stride in the middle of the field between two defenders for a 61-yard touchdown with 2:38 remaining in the half.

A quick Towson three-and-out gave it back to the Tribe in the final two minutes, and Phillips needed only three plays to cover 45 yards, putting W&M in front for good, 17-13, on a 38-yard touchdown pass to Nicholas with 1:19 on the clock.

Towson cut the deficit to 17-16 as time expired in the first half on Mark Bencivengo's 37-yard field goal, capping a wild second quarter.

After Cox's interception at the Towson 27-yard line in the third quarter, Pate kicked a 41-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-16.

Cox also set up the Tribe's final score, returning an interception 69 yards to the Towson 25 on the next series. Phillips rushed for 14 yards on first down, before Viola covered the final 11 yards on two carries, including the 2-yard plunge to push the margin to 27-16.

Nicholas finished with three receptions for 56 yards, and Archer also finished with three receptions for 30 yards.

Williams was the game's leading rusher with 139 yards on 34 attempts for Towson and scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter that put the Tribe in a 10-0 hole.

Marcus Lee had nine receptions for 69 yards, and Harrison finished with five catches for 75 yards, including the fourth quarter touchdown from Schaefer.

W&M continues conference play next weekend, traveling to Villanova for a 6 p.m. kickoff.

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