WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Daniel Dixon's free throw with seven seconds remaining proved to the difference as the William & Mary men's basketball team rallied for a 73-72 win over James Madison on Thursday night at Kaplan Arena. The Tribe (9-8, 3-3 CAA) shot 56.4 percent (22-of-39) from the floor against CAA's leading defense and received a big lift on the bench to the tune of 28 points. The Dukes (6-14, 3-3 CAA) led by as much as seven points in the second half and by two with 1:21 left, but Yohanny Dalembert's last-second putback attempt was ruled after the buzzer to preserve the W&M victory.
 
Dixon led the Tribe with 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals. He was 8-of-9 from the charity stripe, including the game-winner in the closing seconds. Sophomore Paul Rowley matched his career-high with 14 points on 5-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-4 from 3-point range off the bench. Senior Omar Prewitt added 12 points and six rebounds, while junior Jack Whitman chipped in nine points and five rebounds before fouling out.
 
In a second half that feature 10 ties and 11 lead changes, the contest went down to the wire. The Dukes led by four at the intermission, and Jackson Kent's corner 3-pointer opened up a 40-33 cushion for the visitors less than 30 seconds into the final frame.
 
W&M head coach Tony Shaver responded by turning to his bench and removing all five starters. In turn, the Green and Gold scored 11 of the game's next 14 points to take the lead. Junior Connor Burchfield and Rowley connected from long distance to give the Tribe a 44-43 advantage just over five minutes into the second frame.
 
The team's traded the lead back-and-forth over the next eight minutes, before a Dixon 3-pointer from the left side put the Tribe back on top, 60-57, with 7:47 to play. Free throws from Dixon and Prewitt pushed the lead to as much as four, 65-61, with just over five minutes remaining.
 
JMU's Shakir Brown answered with back-to-back triples to pull the Duke even at 67 at the 4:17 mark. The Green and Gold led by one, 70-69, following a Whitman free throw with 2:21 left, but the Dukes answered right back. Dalembert scored on a short jumper in the paint to put the visitors back in front and his free throw with 1:21 remaining made it a two-point, 72-70, Dukes' advantage.
 
On the ensuing Tribe possession, Prewitt pulled down an offensive rebound and stuck it back to tie the contest for the final time at 72 with 1:05 remaining. After a defensive stop, the Tribe had possession and called timeout with 27 seconds remaining. With under five ticks left on the shot clock, Dixon drove the right side of the lane and was fouled. He hit the second free throw to give W&M the lead for the final time. Ramone Snowden's initial attempt in the closing seconds was blocked by Prewitt, but the rebound fell to Dalembert. The JMU bigman's lay-up was ruled to be after the buzzer, giving W&M its third CAA win by less than three points.
 
The Tribe shot better than 50 percent from the floor for the fourth time in the last five games and the eighth time overall this season. The Green and Gold was 22-of-34 (64.7 percent) from the free throw line and outrebounded JMU, 31-27. The Dukes entered the game with a rebounding advantage of nearly six per game and were holding CAA opponents to just 37.7 percent shooting from the field.
 
JMU finished at 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor, but were just 14-of-25 (56 percent) from the free throw line. The Dukes connected on 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from 3-point range and converted 18 W&M turnovers into 21 points. Kent led the visitors with 17 points, while Brown added 13 off the bench. Paulius Stakus was the only other Duke in double figures with 11 points.
 
Four of the Tribe's first five field goals came from 3-point range. A deep Rowley 3-pointer at 10:53 mark gave the home team an 18-13 lead. JMU responded with its defense holding the Tribe without a field goal for six and a half minutes in putting together a 17-3 spurt.
 
The Dukes scored nine-straight points, including a 3-pointer from Joey McLean to give the visitors a 22-20 lead. Stakus scored four points in a row, before back-to-back lay-ups from Ivan Lukic and Snowden extended the JMU lead to its largest at 30-21 with 4:30 left.
 
Prewitt halted the Dukes' run, snapped the Tribe's scoring drought and started a 10-0 W&M run with an old-fashion 3-point play. Dixon dished to Rowley and freshman Nathan Knight for lay-ups, before a Prewitt fast-break bucket gave W&M a 31-30 advantage with 2:22 to play.
 
JMU though score the half's final five points to take the lead into the locker room. Brown knocked down a left wing 3-pointer, and Kent scored on a floater at the buzzer to make it, 37-33. Both teams shot over 50 percent in the opening 20 minutes as W&M connected on 55.6 percent (10-of-18), while the Dukes were at 51.7 percent (15-of-29).
 
The Tribe hits the road to face Elon on Saturday night, Jan. 21. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., and the game will be broadcast online at CAA.TV. Tribe fans can 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.