WILLIAMSBURG, Va – Senior Terry Tarpey and junior Omar Prewitt combined for the Tribe's last 14 points and led a nine-point run over the final two minutes as the William & Mary men's basketball team surged to a 55-48 win over Old Dominion on Tuesday night at Kaplan Arena. W&M (5-2) limited the Monarchs (3-4) to 36.2 percent from the field, and despite not making a 3-point field goal for the first time in a decade, outscored the visitors, 32-14, in the paint.
 
Prewitt led all scorers with 18 points, including 15 in the final 10 minutes, while adding seven rebounds and a game-high four assists. Tarpey scored seven points, all in the final 2:33 of the contest, to go along with seven boards, two blocked shots and two steals. Senior Sean Sheldon just missed a double-double with a workman-like eight points and nine rebounds. He was 2-of-3 from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line
 
Aaron Bacote, who scord ODU's final nine points, gave the visitors the lead for the final time at 48-46 on a fadaway jumper in the paint with 2:04 left. The Green and Gold responded by scoring the game's final nine points to pull out the victory. Prewitt answered on the other end with a free throw line jumper to knot it. After a key defensive stop, Prewitt drove the right side of the lane before dishing back to a cutting Tarpey for a lay-up to put W&M on top for good, 50-48, with just 57 seconds left.
 
After another defensive stop, Tarpey drove from the right wing to the center of the lane, hitting a floater and drawing a foul with only 13.7 seconds on the clock. His free throw completed the conventional 3-point play and extended the lead to five. Prewitt pulled down a rebound after a missed 3-pointer on the ensuing Monarch possession and added the final margin, 55-48, with a pair of free throws.
 
W&M finished the night at 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field, but connected on 43.3 percent (13-of-30) in the second 20 minutes. The Green and Gold was 13-of-18 (72.2 percent) from the free throw line, including a 10-of-12 effort (83.3 percent) in the second half. The Tribe had made a 3-pointer in 305 straight games dating back to Dec. 31, 2005 at Richmond. Tuesday night marked the first time the Tribe won a game without making a 3-point field goal in nearly 25 years. The Green and Gold pulled out a 58-46 win at VMI on Jan. 23, 1991, going 0-of-4 from 3-point range.
 
ODU closed out the evening at 36.2 percent (21-of-58) from the field and was only 2-of-18 (11.1 percent) from 3-point range. The Monarchs also hit just 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from the free throw line, but did hold a 43-36 advantage on the glass.
 
Sophomore David Cohn scored the Tribe's first six points of the game. After a pair of fadeaway jumpers, his cutting back-door lay-up off a pass from junior Daniel Dixon four and a half minutes in gave W&M the early 6-4 lead.
 
ODU scored six straight points as part of a 9-2 run to open up its largest lead of the game. Trey Freeman registered the final seven points of the run, including a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the Monarchs a 13-8 lead with 9:18 to play in the opening half. 
 
Four straight from Dixon drew W&M within a single point at 13-12 with 6:42 remaining in the frame. ODU, though, took a 22-19 advantage to the locker room in a defensive-minded first half. ODU connected on 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from the floor, while W&M shot only 32 percent (8-of-25).
 
W&M pulled back even at 12-minute mark of the second half. After a Freeman jumper extended the ODU margin to four, Sheldon answered with a sweeping hook in the paint. On the defensive side of the ball, sophomore Connor Burchfield knocked the ball away from ODU's Nik Biberaj, leading to a nifty fast-break lay-up from classmate Greg Malinowski. The bucket tied the contest for just the third time at 31 and forced and Old Dominion timeout.
 
A conventional 3-point play from Prewitt at the 6:06 mark gave W&M a 39-37 advantage, before ODU answered with four straight points to regain the lead. ODU freshman Zoran Talley connected on a jumper from the left baseline, and Bacote converted a leaner in the lane to put the Monarchs ahead, 41-39, with 4:36 to play.
 
After a pair of Malinowski free throws knotted the score, Bacote and Prewitt traded 3-point plays to keep the contest equal. Bacote again gave the visitors the lead with a step-back jumper, but Tarpey's first points of the game at the 2:33 mark on the offensive putback pulled W&M even at 46.
 
Bacote and Freeman led Old Dominion with 14 points apiece, while Talley added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Dixon chipped in eight points for the Tribe, while Cohn finished with six points and five rebounds. Malinowski added six points and a game-high three steals off the bench.
 
The Tribe returns to action with it travels to No. 10 Virginia on Saturday afternoon. The game carries a 2 p.m. tip and will be broadcast on the Regional SportsNetwork and on ESPN3.
 
Fans can listen into the broadcast on the Tribe Radio Network with Andrew Phillips and Charlie Woollum on the call. With Tribe men's basketball and football both playing on Saturday afternoon, the basketball game, in its entirety, will be carried on 107.9 Bach FM, while the football game will be on The Tide 92.3 FM. The audio broadcast of both can also be heard over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.

Mark it on your calendars Tribe fans, Tuesdays with Tony is back for 2015-16. The first edition of the monthly luncheons with head coach Tony Shaver at Anna's Brick Oven restaraunt, 2021-D Richmond Rd in Williamsburg, will be on Tuesday, Dec. 8, beginning at 11:30 a.m. The event will also take place on Jan. 9, Feb. 9 and Feb. 23.