NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The William and Mary men's basketball team closed out the
non-conference portion of the schedule with a 64-50 loss at SEC foe Vanderbilt
on Wednesday night in Memorial Gymnasium. The Green and Gold led by one, 29-28,
following a
Matt Rum 3-pointer four minutes into the second half, but the
Commodores answered with a 16-6 run on the way to the win. W&M fell to 7-5
on the year, while Vanderbilt evened its ledger at 6-6.
Sophomore guard
Marcus Thornton led three Tribe players in
double figures with 14 points. Junior forward
Tim Rusthoven battled foul
trouble, but finished with 11 points, including a 7-of-8 effort from the free
throw line, while senior guard
Matt Rum added 10 points, including a pair of
3-pointers. Junior forward
Kyle Gaillard added a game-high 10 rebounds.
The Tribe and Commodores traded buckets in the early stages
of the contest, before a 3-pointer from the right side by freshman
Terry Tarpey
to beat the shot clock put the Green and Gold on top 13-11 at the 12:09 mark.
The W&M lead was again three after a Thornton triple from the left side,
but Vanderbilt seized control of the opening half with a 9-0 run. VU held
W&M scoreless for better than six minutes and a Kedren Johnson bucket in
the paint extended the Commodore cushion to 22-16 at the 4:35 mark.
W&M responded with five straight points to close to
within a point, 22-21. Thornton found junior
Julian Boatner for a 3-pointer,
before scoring on a driving bucket on his own. Vanderbilt though scored the
final four points of the opening half and took a 26-21 advantage to the
intermission.
Rusthoven scored the Tribe's opening five points of the
second half, and Gaillard hit Rum for a 3-pointer from the left wing to give
the College a 29-28 advantage four minutes into the second frame. A Gaillard
driving lay-up tied the contest at 31, before Vanderbilt embarked on a 16-6 run to take
a double-digit advantage. Freshman Sheldon Jeter scored seven straight points
for Vanderbilt, before a Kevin Bright 3-pointer from the left corner pushed the
lead to 47-37 with 9:22 remaining.
The Tribe closed to seven, 48-41, on a Gaillard jumper in
the lane at the 7:11 mark. Vanderbilt, though, scored eight straight points,
including back-to-back 3-pointers from Kedren Johnson and Dai-Jon Parker, to put
the game out of reach.
W&M shot a season-low 34 percent (16-of-47) from the
floor and was 13-of-16 (81.3 percent) from the free throw line. The Tribe
outrebounded Vanderbilt, 35-33, and received four rebounds each from freshmen
Sean Sheldon and
Terry Tarpey. Vanderbilt shot 45.3 percent (24-of-53) from the
floor and knocked down eight 3-pointers. The Commodores blocked 10 shots and
finished with seven steals.
Jeter led three Vanderbilt players in double-digits with a
career-high 14 points on 6-of-7 from the floor. Juniors Rod Odom and Kedren
Johnson added 12 points each in the victory.
The Tribe returns to Colonial Athletic Association play when
it hosts George Mason on Saturday, Jan. 5. The game carries at 2 p.m. tip time
and will be televised on Comcast SportsNet
Mid-Atlantic, Philadelphia and New England as well as Comcast Sports Southeast.
Tribe 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 will be
available on TribeAthletics.com.
W&M Athletics is
offering fans the
Virginia 529 Ticket Package, presented by Virginia 529
College Saving Plan, for the George Mason contest on Saturday. Fans can purchase
two mezzanine level tickets for $20 and will receive a voucher for two hot
dogs, two soft drinks and two bags of chips. Call the Tribe Ticket Office at
(757) 221-3340 for more information.
