WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team used a late 9-1 run to hold off the Liberty Flames, 79-70, on Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. After Liberty (3-3) pulled even for the first time in the second half with three minutes remaining, the Tribe (3-2) scored five-straight points as part of its closing stretch and never looked back in running its home non-conference win streak to 16 games. 
 
Senior Omar Prewitt turned in his best game of the season with a game-high 23 points on 6-of-12 shooting and 9-of-12 from the free throw line. He added six rebounds, four assists compared to one turnover and two steals. Junior Jack Whitman just missed a double-double, posting career-highs of 16 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes of action. He was 8-of-11 from the free throw line.
 
The Tribe led by as many as 10 points on two occasions in the second half, but Liberty used an 8-1 run pull even at 66 on a Caleb Homesley driving lay-up with three minutes remaining. The Tribe responded with five-straight points as part of a 9-1 run to seize control once again. Senior Daniel Dixon knocked down a pair of free throws to put W&M in front for good at 68-66. On the ensuing the Tribe possession, Prewitt drove middle and dished to junior David Cohn at the top of the key for a knock-down 3-pointer with 2:03 left, and the visitors would get no closer the rest of the way.
 
W&M finished the day shooting 40.7 percent (22-of-54) from the floor, including a 7-of-17 3-point effort (41.2 percent). The Green and Gold connected on 28-of-41 from the free throw line, outscoring Liberty (18-of-24) by 10 points at the charity stripe. The Tribe held a 43-25 advantage on the glass, outscoring the visitors, 12-0, in second-chance points thanks to 16 offensive rebounds and 28-18 in the paint. W&M handed out 13 assists on its 22 made field goals and only turned the ball over eight times.
 
Liberty shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor and knocked down 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) from 3-point range. John Dawson led four Flames in double figures with 15 points to go along with seven assists and five blocked shots. Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz added 13 points, while Homesley and Ryan Kemrite chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
 
The Flames jumped out the early advantage, hitting five on its first six shots from the floor. Dawson scored seven of LU's first 12 points, including five straight to give the visitors at eight-point cushion, 12-4, five and a half minutes into the contest.
 
The Tribe gained the upper hand thanks to a 9-0 run. Prewitt scored the first five points of the spurt knocking down a 3-pointer from the left corner, before a steal led to a run-out lay-up, tying the game at 24. Cohn dished to a wide-open Connor Burchfield in the right corner for a triple to put W&M on top, 27-24, with 3:21 left. A Nathan Knight steal and fast-break lay-up in the closing minute provided the Green and Gold with a five-point halftime bulge, 34-29.
 
Pacheco-Ortiz knocked down a 3-pointer to draw the Flames within two, 34-32, on the opening possession of the second half. The visitors remained close and again cut the margin to two, 41-39, on an A.C. Reid triple just four minutes into the second half.
 
The Green and Gold answered with five-straight points, including a corner 3-pointer from Prewitt, to extend the gap to seven. The advantage reached double digits, 55-45, for the first time on a pair of Whitman free throws midway through the second 20 minutes.
 
Liberty did not go quietly drawing within four points with just under seven minutes to play. Kemrite, who scored seven of the Flames' eight points during a stretch, knocked down four-straight free throws to narrow the margin to 62-58 at the 6:46 mark. The W&M lead was again seven following three-straight free throws, setting up the final back-and-forth finish.   
 
Dixon scored eight points on 6-of-8 from the free throw line to go with five rebounds. Cohn tallied a nice stat line of seven points, five rebounds and four assists compared to zero turnovers. Sophomore Paul Rowley and Burchfield added seven points and four rebounds each, while Knight tallied six points, five rebounds and two blocked shots in the victory.
 
W&M returns to action when it hits the road for a Tuesday night tilt at Central Michigan. The contest carries a 7 p.m. tip time and will be broadcast on ESPN3. Tribe fans can also catch the men's basketball 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.