ORLANDO, Fla. – The William & Mary men's basketball team led at the half, but UCF rallied behind a strong second-half to pick up a 75-64 victory at CFE Arena on Saturday afternoon. The Tribe (1-2) led by one, 30-29, at the intermission and took its largest lead of the contest in the opening minutes of the second half. The Knights (3-0) thought shot 61.5 percent in the final 20 minutes and had a 13-point cushion at the free throw line on 18-of-22 to outdistance W&M. 
 
UCF enjoyed as much as a five-point advantage in the early going, before sophomore Justin Pierce, who recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 rebounds, led a seven-point Tribe push to put the visitors in front. He dished to graduate student Cole Harrison for an easy two and scored five straight, including a 3-pointer at the 8:10 mark, to give W&M a 16-14 lead and force a UCF timeout.
 
A.J. Davis sparked a 13-5 Knight spurt with two quick buckets to put UCF back on top, 27-21, with 4:07 to play in the half. W&M answered to take the lead into the locker room thanks to a 9-0 run. Sophomore Nathan Knight capped the run with a coast-to-coast lay-up with 38 seconds remaining, and the Green and Gold held a 30-29 cushion at the intermission.
 
The Tribe started the second half as they did the first, with a Matt Milon 3-pointer, giving W&M its largest lead of the afternoon, 33-29. Dayon Griffin responded with UCF's first 3-pointer of the game as part of a 9-0 run to flip the lead back to the home side.
 
W&M battled back, cutting the deficit to one, 47-46, with 11:32 to play on Paul Rowley's second 3-pointer of the afternoon. The deficit was only five, 57-52, following a pair of Knight free throws at the 5:24 mark, but UCF put the game away with a 10-2 run, extending the lead 67-54 with just over three minutes left.
 
Individual Player Spotlights
Sophomore Justin Pierce led the way with his first career double-double. He poured in 19 points to go with 10 rebounds and five assists. He topped the Green and Gold in all three categories. Sophomores Nathan Knight and Matt Milon rounded out the Tribe's double-digit scorers with 14 points apiece.
 
UCF's A.J. Davis registered his second consecutive double-double of the season, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Five UCF players scored in double-figures led by Chance McSpadden, who had 18 points off the bench. Tacko Fall saw its first action of the season after missing the opening two games due to injury and finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in 15 minutes.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 35.2 percent (25-of-71) from the floor compared to 46.5 percent (26-of-56) for UCF. Defensively, the Green and Gold held the Knight to 33.3 percent (10-of-30) from the field and 0-of-8 from 3-point range in the first half, but UCF hit 61.5 percent (16-of-26) from the floor and 5-of-9 from 3-point range (55.6 percent) in the final 20 minutes.
- W&M hit a season-high nine 3-pointers led by Milon's four. Junior Paul Rowley and senior Connor Burchfield knocked down two 3-pointers apiece.
- The Green and Gold dished out a season-high 17 assists on its 25 made field goals. W&M also only turned the ball over seven times in the contest, outscoring UCF in points off turnovers, 11-4.
- UCF outrebounded W&M, 44-36, but the Tribe held an 11-8 cushion on the offensive glass.
 
Notes
Sophomore Justin Pierce established career-highs for points (19), rebounds (10) and assists (5) … Sophomore Matt Milon scored in double figures for the second-straight game, finishing with 14 on 4-of-8 from 3-point range … Sophomore Nathan Knight just missed his second-straight double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds … The sophomore trio of Pierce (19), Knight (14), and Milon (14) scored 47 of the Tribe's 64 points, according for 73.4 percent of the Tribe's scoring.
 
Up Next
The Tribe returns to Kaplan Arena to open a three-game homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 21, against Shenandoah. The contest carries a 7 p.m., and 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.