Towson, Md. - The
William and Mary men's basketball team secured its first road victory
of the year Wednesday night in convincing fashion, 83-68, over Towson.
Led by freshman guard
Julian Boatner's freshman-record tying six
3-pointers, the Green and Gold shot 55.8 percent from the floor and 51.8
percent from 3-point range in rolling past the Tigers. The Green and
Gold won its second straight game, improving to 6-12 overall and 2-5 in
CAA play, while TU fell to 4-13 on the year and 0-7 in league action.
Boatner led W&M with a game and career-high 22 points. He
equaled Nick D'Antoni and Matt Verkey's Tribe freshman record of six
3-pointers. The 6-2 guard was 6-of-7 from long range, which marked the
third-best percentage in school history, and added three assists. Fellow
freshman
Brandon Britt finished with 16 points on 6-of-10 from the
floor and 3-of-5 from 3-point range to go along with a team and
career-high five rebounds and three assists.
The Tribe tallied its second straight game of 80-plus points,
marking the first time since early in the 2005-06 season that W&M
produced back-to-back games of 80 or more points. W&M canned a
season-best 14 3-point field goals and dished out 20 assists compared to
just 10 turnovers on 29 made field goals.
Britt scored five of the Tribe's first eight points, pushing W&M
to the early 8-2 lead following a 3-pointer at the 16:20 mark. The
Tigers pulled within one at 8-7 on a conventional 3-point play from
Braxton Dupree just over a minute later. Four straight Tribe points
pushed the lead back to 12-7 punctuated by a
Kyle Gaillard dunk at the
13:27. The Tigers answered right back as Josh Brown drilled a 3-pointer
from the right wing cut the deficit to two. W&M took control of the
contest with a 16-4 run to take its largest lead of the opening 20
minutes.
Boatner knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to
eight, before his freshman backcourt mate Britt connected on a triple of
his own. Junior forward
Quinn McDowell capped the run with a
conventional 3-point play to put the Green and Gold on top 28-14 with
7:30 remaining.
Towson pulled back within seven on a pair of occasions late in the
first half. On the second occasion, Brian Morris found Dupree for a
lay-up with 1:44 remaining. The Tribe pushed the lead back to 13 as
junior
JohnMark Ludwick found Boatner for back-to-back 3-pointers. The
Tigers' Rashawn Polk hit a deep 3-pointer from the top of the key at the
halftime horn to cut the Tribe advantage to 41-31.
The Green and Gold came out of the locker room on a roll, scoring
the first nine points of the second half, ending the Tiger threat. Britt
found senior
Marcus Kitts for a two-handed dunk on the opening play of
the second half and then converted a conventional 3-point play. After a
Kitts free throw, Britt drove and kicked to a wide-open Ludwick for a
triple that gave the College a 50-31 lead less than three minutes into
the second half.
In total, the College connected on 10 of its first 12 shots in the
second half and the lead ballooned to as many as 31 points. After an
Erique Gumbs bucket cut the Tribe lead to 66-44, W&M scored nine
straight points to push the lead to its largest. Kitts found McDowell
for a lay-up, before Boatner hit three free throws after being fouled on
a 3-point attempt. The Bloomington, Ind., native then found Gaillard
for a 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the College a 75-44 lead
with 8:52 remaining. Over the opening 11 minutes of the second half,
W&M outscored the Tigers, 34-13.
With the game well in hand, the Tribe lead 83-60 following a
shot-clock beating jumper from the left baseline by junior
Kendrix Brown
with 2:26 remaining. The Tigers were able to pull within the final
margin of 15 by scoring the game's final eight points.
All five Tribe starters finished in double figures as McDowell added
12 points, while Kitts and Ludwick each finished with 10 points. Kitts
also pulled down a team-high five rebounds and blocked two shots.
Gaillard finished with six points off the bench for the Green and Gold,
while adding a career-high four steals.
For the game, Towson shot 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field and
just 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from 3-point range. Junior Braxton Dupree
led the Tigers with 17 points to go along with six rebounds. Senior Josh
Brown finished with 15 points, while freshman Erique Gumbs tallied 12
points off the bench.
The Tribe returns home for to face the Hofstra Pride on Saturday,
Jan. 22. The Tribe and Pride will play a matinee with tip off at 2 p.m.
Fans can catch the action of the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley,
Bill McDowell and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in
Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network. The
live audio feed and live stats are available at TribeAthletics.com. Fan
can purchase the video feed at the home for W&M sports.