WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Coming off a 13-day break for final exams at the College, the William & Mary men's basketball team scored the game's first 21 points and never looked back on the way to a 113-59 win over Milligan on Friday night at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe (4-4) shot a season-high 60.6 percent from the field and scored the second-most points in school history. W&M tallied the most points in a half in program annals with 68 in the opening 20 minutes and equaled the largest margin of victory in Kaplan Arena history.
The Green and Gold placed six players in double figures for the first time since 2011 as the trio of senior
Daniel Dixon and juniors
Connor Burchfield and
Greg Malinowski tallied 20 points apiece. In his first collegiate start, Burchfield hit 6-of-8 from 3-point range to equal his career high of 20 points. Malinowski, who made his first start of the year, was 7-of-14 shooting, while Dixon missed just one shot, going 7-of-8 from the floor and 2-of-3 from distance. Dixon also shared team-high assist honors with junior
Michael Schlotman as each had five helpers.
Freshman
Nathan Knight, also making his first career start, just missed a triple-double, turning in a stat line of 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots. It was his first career double-double and the seven blocked shots rank fourth for the Tribe all-time. Sophomore
Paul Rowley joined the double-double party with career-highs of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Freshman
Justin Pierce rounded out the Tribe's double-digit scorers with 10 points and five rebounds.
Malinowski, Rowley and Dixon combined for 15 of the Tribe's first 21 points. Dixon's triple from the right wing at the 13:28 mark extended the early margin to 21-0. Over the opening 6:45 of the game, the Green and Gold limited Milligan to 0-of-9 from the floor.
The Tribe nearly closed the half as strong as they opened it with a 21-2 run over the final 5:18. Dixon and Knight led the way during the stretch with seven apiece, while the W&M defense held the Buffaloes without a field goal. Dixon's 3-pointer to beat the halftime horn off an offensive rebound and pass from Burchfield gave the home team a 68-23 advantage at the break. W&M shot 62.2 percent (23-of-37) in the opening 20 minutes, including 9-of-15 (60 percent) from 3-point range. The 68 points bettered the old school mark of 64 points in a half set in 1955 against Virginia Tech.
W&M's lead never dipped below the halftime margin of 45 and reached its climax at the final margin of 54 on a Rowley dunk with 35 seconds remaining. For the game, the Tribe connected on 40 field goals, the fifth most in school history, shooting 60.6 percent overall. W&M connected on 46.4 percent(13-of-28) from 3-point range against a Milligan defense that entered the game holding its opponents to just 29.1 percent from long distance. At the charity stripe, the Tribe was 20-of-27 (74.1 percent).
The Tribe dished out 25 assists, the 10th most in program annals, and its 15 blocked shots rank third in school history. W&M's 54-point margin of victory tied largest in Kaplan Arena history along with the Green and Gold's 105-51 win over Christopher Newport in 1976. The Tribe finished the night with a 51-30 advantage on the glass.
Milligan closed the night at 32.8 percent (22-of-67) from the field, including a 7-of-31 effort (22.6 percent) from 3-point range. Bo Pless led the Buffaloes with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, including a trio of 3-pointers. Tyler Nichols chipped in 12 points, while Aaron Levarity added 11.
The Tribe returns to action with its second home game in four days, hosting Savannah State on Monday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., from Kaplan Arena. The Tigers are coming off a 93-90 overtime time at Oregon State last week. The contest will be streamed for FREE in HD on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. 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.
