Williamsburg, Va. - A late rally was not enough as the William and Mary men's basketball team dropped its second straight barn-burner, 68-66, to UNCW on Saturday afternoon. The Green and Gold, who trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, used a 10-0 run to take a one-point lead with less than two minutes remaining, but the Seahawks scored on four straight possessions to pull out the narrow victory. W&M falls to 4-16 overall and 2-6 in CAA play, while the Seahawks improve to 8-10 on the year and 4-4 in league action.

Senior forward Quinn McDowell led the Tribe with 18 points to go along with five rebounds. He was 5-of-11 from the field and added a trio of 3-pointers. Sophomore forward Tim Rusthoven registered his second straight double-double with a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds. Junior guard Matt Rum added 11 points, including a perfect 3-of-3 from 3-point range to go along with a team-best five assists compared to one turnover.



The Seahawks led 60-51 with six minutes remaining following a driving lay-up by Adam Smith, but the Tribe got things going on both ends of the floor. Defensively, the Tribe held UNCW scoreless for over four minutes in scoring 10 straight points to take the lead. Sophomore guard Brandon Britt scored on a driving lay-up, before Rum found Rusthoven for a hoop and the harm. The 6-9 sophomore added the free throw to close the gap to 60-56, exciting the Kaplan Arena faithful and forcing a UNCW timeout with 5:09 remaining.

The Tribe got another stop defensive on a McDowell steal, and he was fouled on a drive to the hoop. The senior captain, who was 7-of-8 from the free throw line on the day, hit both from the charity stripe to cut the margin to two. The Green and Gold forced another Wilmington turnover on a shot-clock violation, and on the ensuing Tribe possession, Rum canned a 3-pointer from the right wing off a dish from freshman guard Marcus Thornton to give the College a 61-60 advantage with 3:34 remaining.

W&M continued to lead, before UNCW worked the ball to Keith Rendleman in the post, and the CAA's leading scorer converted a jump hook to put the Seahawks on top 62-61 with 1:36 left. Following a Tribe turnover, the Seahawks got a driving lay-up from Freddie Jackson to extend the margin to three with less than 40 seconds remaining.

On the Tribe's next possession, Rendleman blocked a driving lay-up by Thornton that resulted in a run-out dunk for the Seahawks' Donte Morales to push the lead to five, 66-61, with 27 seconds remaining. The lead was still five following a missed Rendleman free throw with seven seconds left, before McDowell found Rum for another 3-pointer from the right wing to cut the gap to 68-66. The Tribe were able to foul UNCW's Tanner Milson with 1.3 seconds remaining, and though he missed the first of a 1-and-1 situation, Rendleman was able to knock the rebound away to preserve the Seahawk victory.

W&M finished the contest shooting just 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, but knocked down 9-of-22 (40.9 percent) from 3-point range and were 17-of-20 (85 percent) from the free throw line. UNCW shot 55.8 percent (29-of-52) from the floor, including 64 percent (16-of-25) in the second half, while hitting 8-of-18 (44.4 percent) from 3-point range. The Tribe dished out 12 assists compared to just seven turnovers.

The Tribe led early, 12-11, following an offensive putback by sophomore forward Fred Heldring eight minutes into the contest. The Seahawks answered with a 10-2 run to take control. After Cedrick Williams put UNCW on top, Milson canned a pair of 3-pointers, and a Morales bucket at the 8:50 mark gave UNCW a 21-14 advantage.

The Seahawk lead was 24-19, following a McDowell 3-pointer from the right side, but it was Morales that scored five straight points to give UNCW at 10-point cushion, 29-19, with 4:10 left in the opening half. The lead jumped to 11, 33-22, following Rendleman dunk, but McDowell scored the final four points of the first half to close the gap to 33-26 at the intermission.

Rum hit a 3-pointer to start the second half, cutting the deficit to 33-29 less than 30 seconds into the frame. The margin was just three, 39-36, following a conventional 3-point play by Thornton with 17:23 left. UNCW though responded with seven straight points to push its advantage back to double-digits. Rendleman sparked the run, tallying a pair of assists, including one to Morales for a 3-pointers, before tipping in a missed shot to put UNCW on top 46-36 with 16:05 remaining.

Rendlemen, who entered the game leading the CAA in scoring and rebounding in league games only, finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with a team-best four assists. Morales added 16 points, while Adam Smith and Tanner Milson each chipped in 12. Freddie Jackson scored seven points and pulled down 10 rebounds for the Seahawks.

The Tribe continues its second-game homestand when it welcomes Drexel to Kaplan Arena on Monday, Jan. 23. Tip-off for the Green and Gold's third game in five days is slated for 7 p.m. 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 Tribe Athletics TV video stream can also be purchased at the home for W&M sports.