FORT WORTH, Texas – The William & Mary men's basketball team knocked down 15 3-pointers and battled No. 12 TCU to the end, before falling 86-75 on Friday night in its non-conference finale. The Horned Frogs (12-0), which set a school-record with an NCAA-best 17-straight win, held off the Tribe (7-4) behind 61.8 percent shooting, including 72 percent in the second half.
 
The Tribe led 3-1 after Justin Pierce hit the Green and Gold's opening shot of the contest from 3-point range just over 20 seconds into the tilt. The Horned Frogs used a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the first 20 minutes. Alex Robinson scored the first four points of the spurt, before a Desmond Bane bucket extended the margin to 11-3 at the 15:07 mark. W&M drew within two on three occasions in the first half, including the final time on a Paul Rowley 3-pointer at the 8:28 mark, but TCU led 36-31 at the break behind 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field.
 
The Green and Gold scored on its opening possession of the second half to close the gap to three, but the Horned Frogs responded with six-straight points and eventually led by 10, 54-44, with 13:18 remaining. An 11-3 Tribe narrowed the TCU advantage to 70-68 with 6:32 remaining. Senior Connor Burchfield knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, before sophomore Matt Milon added a third. Nathan Knight's lay-up whittled the Horned Frog lead down to two.
 
TCU answered with a 13-4 spurt to put the game away. The home team scored seven of the game's next nine points to take a 77-70 advantage on an Alex Robinson lay-up. A Milon jumper closed the gap to five, but TCU scored six straight, including four from Jaylen Fisher, to pushed the advantage to the final margin of 11.
 
Individual Player Spotlight
Sophomore Matt Milon led the Tribe with 22 points, tying his most in a Green and Gold uniform, on 6-of-11 from 3-point range. Senior Connor Burchfield added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-7 from distance.
 
Alex Robinson and Jaylen Fisher led five Horned Frogs in double figures with 23 and 21 points, respectively. Fisher, who was 8-of-13 from the field and 3-of-5 from 3, scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 51.4 percent (18-of-35) from the field in the second half and finished the game at 42.4 percent (28-of-66). On the other side, TCU shot 61.8 percent (34-of-55) from the field overall, including a 72-percent (18-of-25) clip in the second half.
 
- TCU outscored W&M 14-4 at the free throw line, attempting 22 compared to six for the Green and Gold.
 
- The Horned Frogs held a 52-14 advantage on points in the paint, while the Tribe outscored TCU, 45-12, from 3-point range.
 
- The Tribe shot 39.5 percent (15-of-38) from 3-point range against a TCU defense that entered the game limiting teams to 32.4 percent from long range.
 
- The Green and Gold dished out 20 assists on its 28 made field goals and only turned the ball over seven times. Senior David Cohn led W&M with a game-high seven assist, while sophomore Nathan Knight added six.
 
Notes
W&M knocked down 15 3-pointers for the sixth time this season and 15th time all-time … The 15 3-pointers rank 12th in program history … W&M attempted 38 triples in the contest, which ranked fifth in school lore … Sophomore Nathan Knight dished out a career-high six assists compared to zero turnovers … Sophomore Matt Milon tallied his third career 20-point game and second with the Tribe … Milon knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers … Junior Paul Rowley knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, his second double-digit performance of the season … Sophomore Justin Piercen led the Tribe in rebounding for the ninth time in 11 games with 10 rebounds … It was his fifth double-digit rebounding game of the season … W&M dished out 20 assists for the fifth time in the last eight games … It marked W&M's 15th game with 20 or more assists over the last two years … The Green and Gold dropped just its second game when dishing out 20 or more assists since 2010 (33-2).
 
Up Next
The Tribe opens Colonial Athletic Association play at home on Saturday, Dec. 30, when Hofstra heads to Kaplan Arena. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m., and the game will be streamed on Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet. Tribe fans can 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.