Wilmington, N.C. - Despite a season-high 27 points from senior Quinn McDowell and the fewest turnovers in school history, the William and Mary men's basketball team dropped a CAA road contest at UNCW, 81-68, on Saturday night. The Seahawks shot 51 percent from the floor and 52.9 percent from 3-point range to outdistance the Tribe, which turned the ball over just three times and outscored the Seahawks in the paint, off turnovers and in second-chance points. W&M fell to 4-21 on the year and 2-11 in CAA play, while UNCW upped its season ledger to 9-14 and 5-8 in league action.

McDowell led all scorers with 27 points, hitting on 9-of-16 from the floor and 5-of-10 from 3-point range. The 5 3-pointers were a season-high for the Green and Gold captain. Sophomore forward Tim Rusthoven turned in another stout effort on the low block as he scored 16 points on 7-of-11 from the floor to go along with a team-high seven rebounds. As a team, the Tribe turned the ball over just three times, which equaled the school record for the fewest turnovers since 1980.

W&M raced out the early lead as McDowell knocked down his first 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the College an 8-4 advantage less than three minutes into the contest. The lead was once again four, 10-6, after freshman guard Marcus Thornton threw down a thunderous dunk over a late rotating Keith Rendleman at the 15:20 mark. Following the slam though, Thornton was whistled for a technical foul for taunting the crowd. The Seahawks knocked down both free throws, before Donte Morales scored a bucket to knot the game at 10 less than 20 seconds later.

After McDowell put the Tribe back on top with his second 3-pointer of the night, Trevor Deloach connected on back-to-back triples for UNCW to give the Seahawks a 16-13 lead at the 13:50 mark. A Tim Rusthoven dunk off a nice pass from sophomore guard Brandon Britt sliced the deficit to one, before UNCW answered with a big run.

The Seahawks held W&M scoreless for nearly seven minutes and scored 16 straight points. Tanner Milson hit back-to-back 3-pointers for UNCW, before a pair of Adam Smith free throw put the Seahawks on top 32-15 with 5:36 remaining in the first half. On the run, Smith scored six points for UNCW, including four from the free throw line.

The Tribe responded with eight straight points to cut the deficit back to single digits. McDowell scored on a lay-up and knocked down a jumper from the left baseline to narrow the margin to nine with 43 seconds remaining. After a Rendleman dunk for UNCW, Britt closed the first-half scoring with a pair of free throws to send W&M to the locker room down just nine, 34-25.

UNCW's lead was 10, 40-30, after a pair of Quinn McDowell free throw just under five minutes into the second half, before the Seahwks put together a mini-run to stretch its advantage back to 17. Morales knocked down a 3-pointer, before Deloach scored on back-to-back fastbreak buckets, the second of which gave UNCW at 47-30 lead with 13:36 remaining. The lead reached as many as 18, and the College could get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as the Seahawks shot an impressive 71.4 percent (15-of-21) from the field in the second half, including a perfect 5-of-5 from 3-point range.

For the game, W&M shot just 38.6 percent (22-of-57) from the floor and hit on 6-of-23 from 3-point range, while connecting on 18-of-26 from the free throw line. The Tribe dished out 10 assists compared to their three turnovers. UNCW hit on 51 percent (26-of-51) from the floor and 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from 3-point range. The Seahawks shot 76 percent (19-of-25) from the free throw line and outrebounded the College, 40-26.

Britt finished with nine points for W&M and was 7-of-8 from the free throw line to go along with two assists and two steals. Junior guard Matt Rum led the Tribe with six assists on the night, while Thornton finished with eight points. Smith led five Seahawk players in double digits with 25 points and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line to go along with three 3-pointers. Rendleman added a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds, while Deloach scored 16 points to go along with seven rebounds. Milson scored 13 points on a trio of 3-pointers, while adding a team-best five assists.

The Tribe will return to action when it hosts Old Dominion on Wednesday, Feb. 8, at 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 Web at TribeAthletics.com. The Tribe Athletics TV video feed can also be purchased at the home for W&M sports.

Wednesday's game will be the second half of the men's basketball portion of the inaugural Optima Health Challenge, which is a year-long competition between the two athletics departments. Old Dominion currently leads the standings at 45-30. A total of 140 points (10 points for Football, 10 points for MBB (5 points per game), 10 points for WBB, and 10 points per 11 Olympic Sports) will be awarded for 2011-12, and the winning school will be the first to tally 75 points.