Lynchburg, Va. - Senior forward Quinn McDowell scored on a conventional 3-point play with 8.1 seconds remaining and pulled down the game-sealing rebound off a missed Liberty free throw to give the William and Mary men's basketball team its first win of the season, 65-64, on the road Sunday night at the Vines Center. Playing its third game in three days at the 2K Sports Classic benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer Subregional, the College knocked off the Flames one week after falling to LU in Williamsburg.

McDowell finished with a game-high 18 points and led the College with eight rebounds on his way to earning All-Tournament honors at a Gazelle Group event for the second straight season. Sophomore guard Brandon Britt finished with 15 points and four assists compared to zero turnovers in 28 minutes of action, while freshman guard Marcus Thornton tallied 13 points, including 10 in the first half, in the victory.

With the Tribe leading a close game, 59-57, with under three minutes remaining, Liberty senior guard Jesse Sanders made a pair of huge plays for the Flames. He drilled a 3-pointer from the right wing to put the Flames on top and then extended the cushion to its largest at 62-59 with 1:48 remaining on a lay-up before the shot clock expired.

W&M answered as Britt found McDowell for a 3-pointer at the top of the key to tie the contest at 62 just 27 seconds later. After an offensive rebound, the Flames retook the lead, 64-62, on a rainbow jumper from inside the top of key by David Minaya with 22.4 seconds remaining.

On the ensuing W&M possession, the Green and Gold worked the ball around to McDowell, before the senior captain drove the left baseline. He spun into the paint, scoring the lay-up and drawing the foul with 8.1 seconds remaining. McDowell's free throw completed the 3-point play and put the Tribe on top, 65-64. On Liberty's final possession, John Caleb Sanders was fouled and had two free throws with one second remaining. His first freebie was short, and the second chance to tie the game caromed off the right side of the rim before McDowell pulled down the rebound to set off a W&M celebration.

W&M shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the floor for the game, while knocking down seven 3-pointers and going 16-of-23 from the free throw line. The Tribe finished with a season-low seven turnovers and in the process outscored Liberty, 24-20, in the paint and 15-12 in points off turnovers. It was a stark contrast from the game in Williamsburg on Nov. 14. The Flames pulled out a 75-72 win after outscoring the Tribe, 22-10, in points off turnovers and 32-24 in the paint.

Sophomore guard Julian Boatner finished with eight points, including two 3-pointers, while freshman Tom Schalk continued his strong rookie season with six points and six rebounds in his second collegiate start. Senior Kendrix Brown enjoyed a nice floor game with four assists compared to one turnover to go along with three steals and five rebounds.

In a back-and-forth first half that featured five ties and six lead changes, W&M took its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes following back-to-back bucket from McDowell and Thornton to push the Tribe lead to 9-5 less than three minutes into the contest. Liberty's largest  lead of the opening half came with 6:59 remaining. After a Thornton lay-up gave W&M a 15-12 advantage, the Flames scored six straight points. Tavares Speaks knocked down a jumper at the 8:20 mark off a Chene Phillips' steal to give the Flames the advantage, before two Jesse Sanders free throws made it 18-15 with nearly seven minutes remaining.

McDowell knocked down a 3-pointer to knot the game at 18 on the next Tribe possession, and the lead bounced back and forth the rest of the half, before Britt finished it on a personal four-point streak. The Chesapeake, Va., native knocked down 1-of-2 from the free throw line to tie the game at 26. He missed the second freebie, but Brown pulled down the offensive rebound. Moments later, junior guard Matt Rum found Britt for an open 3-pointer from the left side to put the College on top, 29-26, heading into the locker room.

W&M maintained its lead in the early going of the second half, and Thornton extended the advantage to 37-32 on a free throw with 15:39 remaining. The Flames answered with a 7-1 run to take a one-point advantage. Minaya capped the run with a fade-a-way jumper in the lane to put LU on top, 39-38, with 13:08 left. 

The Tribe responded scoring 15 of the game's next 21 points to take it largest lead of the contest. Britt scored seven points on the run, taking the ball to the hoop for a pair of lay-ups while adding 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He found sophomore Fred Heldring for a fast-break drunk at the 8:53 mark, before a McDowell free throw 39 seconds later gave the College a 53-45 lead.

The Flames would not go quietly pulling even with eight straight points. Speaks scored four of the eight points on the run, including two free throws to knot things at 53 with 6:12 remaining to set up the final back-and-forth ending.

W&M held Liberty to 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from the field in the first half, before the Flames shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) in the second half and finished at 40.7 percent (22-of-54) for the game. LU was only 3-of-12 from 3-point range and connected on 17-of-23 from the charity stripe. Speaks led five Flames in double figures with 13 points, while Jesse Sanders just missed a triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists.

The Tribe will return to action when it travels to Howard on Saturday, Nov. 26. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. in Washington, D.C. Fans can catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg is the flagship station of the Tribe Radio Network and the broadcast can be heard over the Internet at TribeAthletics.com.

The first "Chesapeake Bank Tony Shaver Show" will be on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at the Buffalo Wild Wings in Newtown. The show will be broadcast live on the Tribe's flagship stations - 92.3 FM The Tide and 107.9 Bach FM. The show begins on-site at 6:30 p.m. with the live interview airing from 7-7:30 p.m. Fans are invited to join Coach Shaver and host Jay Colley at the Buffalo Wild Wings at 4918 Courthouse Street beginning at 6:30 p.m.