WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - After a two-week final exam break at the College, the William & Mary men's basketball team opens a five-game homestand when it welcomes in-state foe Mary Washington to Williamsburg on Friday night. The contest carries a 7 p.m. tip from Kaplan Areana and will be broadcast for FREE in HD on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet.

Tribe fans can also catch the action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the Tribe Radio Network and the audio is also available over the Web at TribeAthletics.com.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Follow the Tribe on Twitter @TribeAthletics and for in-game updates @TribeGameDay. Check in with the Tribe on Facebook at WMTribeAthletics, and see what happening with the Green and Gold on Instagram @TribeAthletics. Finally, along with the catalog of video content on TribeAtheltics.com, check out the Tribe YouTube page. Be social and share all the Tribe news and experiences, using the hashtag #RisingTribe.
 

News and Notes
 - The Tribe returns from a two-week final exam break at the College when it hosts Mary Washington on Friday night in the first meeting between the two schools. It marks the start of a five-game homestand for W&M, its longest since a seven-game stretch in 2006-07.
 
- W&M owns a 10-game home non-conference winning streaking entering Friday's contest. The Tribe's home record over the last three seasons is 25-6 (.806)
 
- It marks the eighth straight season in which W&M has played a non-Division I opponent immediately following final exams and the ninth in a row playing a non-Division I opponent. Over that stretch, the Tribe has won its games against non-Division I opponents by an average margin of 33.8 points. The Tribe scores at an 85.3 points per game clip in those contests, including a 91.3 average over the last three seasons, while holding its foes to just 51.5 points per game.
 
- A victory over Mary Washington would clinch the Tribe's fourth straight winning non-conference record and 28th overall in program history.
 
- W&M leads the CAA in both defensive field goal (39.3) and 3-point percentage (24.2). The Tribe is fifth nationally in 3-point percentage defense, 52nd in scoring defense (64.6) and 55th in field goal percentage defense.
 
- Junior Omar Prewitt, who leads W&M at 17 points per game, has scored in double figures in all eight games this season. He is only 55 points away from becoming the 38th 1,000-point scorer in W&M history. His scoring average ranks fourth in the CAA and 115th nationally.
 
Scouting Mary Washington
Mary Washington is a Division III program from Fredericksburg, Va., and plays in the Capital Athletic Conference. The Eagles enter the game with the Tribe at 6-3 following a thrilling 68-67 victory over No. 18-ranked Virginia Wesleyan on Wednesday night. It marked UMW's fourth win in the last five games. Marcus Kahn is in his second season with the Eagles, which won the 2014 Capital Athletic Conference Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Mary Washington is currently 2-1 in the CAC this season.
 
Against the Marlins, T.J. Jones knocked down a 3-pointer with two seconds left to propel UMW to the victory. He finished with a game-high 22 points, including a 5-of-8 effort from 3-point range. Defensively, the Eagles held Virginia Wesleyan to only 35.7 percent shooting.
 
The Eagles averaged 76.3 points per game, while limiting its foes to 67.3. UMW is shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 35.8 percent from 3-point range and 69.1 percent from the free throw line. In total, nearly 42 percent from Mary Washington's field goal attempts come from 3-point range. Defensively, they are holding opponents to 44.5 percent from the field, including a 30.9 percent clip from 3-point range. The Eagles force opponents into nearly 18 turnovers per game, while tallying 8.3 steals per contest.
 
Jones, who transferred to UMW from Slippery Rock, leads the Eagles in scoring at 17.7 points per game, while shooting 41 percent from 3-point range. Three times this season he has scored 20 or more points in a game, including 26 in the season-opening win over Randolph Macon. Freshman guard Mark Madison also averages in double figures at 12.3 per contest, while junior forward John Lutkenhaus adds 9.3 points per game to go with a team-best 6.9 rebounds per contest.
 
Winning in the Non-Conference
A win over Mary Washington on Friday night would cement a W&M's winning non-conference record for the fourth straight season under head coach Tony Shaver. In the Tribe's 80 years of conference affiliation, dating back to its first season in the South Conference in 1936-37, W&M has posted a winning non-conference mark on 27 occasions. The 2015-16 non-conference mark sits as the ninth-best in program history.
 
Best Non-Conference Record
1. 4-0 (1.000) - 1952-53
2. 8-3 (.727) - 2009-10
3. 10-4 (.714) - 1949-50
4. 7-3 (.700) - 1997-98
5. 13-6 (.684) - 1948-49
6. 8-4 (.667) - 1992-93
    4-2 (.667) - 1947-48
8. 7-4 (.636) - 2006-07
9. 5-3 (.625) - 2015-16
    5-3 (.625) - 1962-63
    5-3 (.625) - 1958-59
    5-3 (.625) - 1938-39
 
Winning at Home
The Tribe owns a 10-game non-conference home winning streak entering its final three non-conference games of 2015, all at home. The Green and Gold is 3-0 in 2015-16 at home. Under head coach Tony Shaver, W&M is an impressive 48-14 (.774) record in non-conference home games. Overall, the Tribe is 25-6 (.806) at home over the last three seasons. W&M's current five-game homestand this season is the longest since a seven-game stretch during the month of December in 2006.
 
On the Defensive
A key to the Tribe's successful start to the 2015-16 season campaign has been its improved play on the defensive end. The Green and Gold has limited opponents to 64.6 points per game along with shooting percentages of 39.3 from the field and 24.2 from 3-point range. According to the statistical website KenPom.com, the Tribe possesses a defensive efficiency rating of 99.5, which ranks third in the CAA and 109th nationally. It is the Tribe's best efficiency rating since the website began tracking in 2002. W&M leads the CAA in defensive 3-point percentage and field goal percentage defense, while ranking third in scoring defense. Nationally, the Green and Gold ranks fifth in defensive 3-point percentage, 52nd in scoring defense and 55th in field goal percentage defense, as of Dec. 16.
 
In the National Rankings
The Tribe ranks among the top 100 nationally in a number of statistical categories. Here is a look at where W&M ranks nationally (as of Dec. 16):
 
5th in 3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense (24.2)
30th in Defensive Rebounds Per Game (29.4)
47th in Fewest Fouls Per Game (17.3)
51st in Scoring Defense (64.6)
54th in Blocked Shots Per Game (5.1)
54th in Field Goal Pct. Defense (39.3)
75th in Turnovers Per Game (11.9)
82nd in Field Goal Pct. (46.3)
 
Scoring Inside
Known for its 3-point shooting, the Tribe offense showed an ability to score in the paint as well this season averaging 33.5 points per game, including 40-plus point efforts in three games. W&M is outscoring the opposition by nearly six points per game in the paint, including an impressive 40-28 margin in the win at N.C. State. The Green and Gold most recently topped ODU in the paint, 32-14, to improve to 5-0 this season when outscoring its foe in the paint. In fact over the last three years, W&M is 30-2(.938) when scoring more than its opponent in the paint, including 20 straight victories. W&M is 19-1 the last two seasons when scoring 30 or more points in the paint.
 
Prewitt Scoring
During each season of his career, junior Omar Prewitt has seen an increase in his scoring, and the early returns in 2015-16 are no different. The 6-7 wing has scored in double figures in all eight games this season and is averaging 17 points per game this season, which ranks fourth in the CAA and 115th nationally. Prewitt is W&M's active leader with 945 career points, which ranks 172nd nationally among active Division I players (as of Dec. 16) and eighth in the CAA. His career scoring average of 12.9 points per game is 61st among active Division I players. He is only 55 points away from becoming the 38th player in program annals with 1,000 career points and the 11th under head coach Tony Shaver, which is the most for a W&M head coach. Prewitt averaged 11.4 points per game as a freshman on the way to earning CAA Rookie of the Year honors, before tallying an average of 13.5 last season, which ranked fourth in the CAA among returning players this season. During the 2014-15 campaign, he twice scored 30 or more points, including a career-high 33 points in the Tribe's CAA semifinal win over Hofstra.