HARRISONBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team used a timely 15-2 run early in the second half and shot 61 percent in the final 20 minutes to improved to 2-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play with an 84-76 road win at James Madison on Tuesday evening.  W&M trailed by as much as 14 in the first half, but closed the half on a 15-4 run, before surging in front in the final 20 minutes. Sophomores Matt Milon (19 points and 12 rebounds) and Nathan Knight (16 points and 12 rebounds) each tallied double-doubles in the win.
 
Trailing 41-38 at the break, W&M knocked down five-straight shots during its 15-2 run to take it first lead of the game, which it would not relinquish. The Green and Gold scored nine points in a row and took the lead for good on a Nathan Knight dunk at the 15:22 mark. Sophomore Justin Pierce added the final five of the run, extending the margin to 56-50 on a lay-up six minutes into the second half.
 
JMU drew to as close as 62-60 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Stuckey Mosley and Joey McLean, but W&M responded with six in a row to take it largest lead. Milon's 3-pointer capped the spurt with 6:46 to play, increasing the margin to 68-60. W&M had an answer for every Duke come-back attempt, including old-fashion 3-point plays from junior Paul Rowley with 5:22 left and Milon with 40 seconds remaining after a Connor Burchfield steal on the defensive end to hold off the Dukes.
 
JMU used a pair of 7-0 runs to take a double-digit advantage in the first half. Matt Lewis jumpstarted both with a 3-pointer, and back-to-back Tribe turnovers led to a pair of easy Dukes' buckets. A DeVelle Phillips dunk extended the home team's lead to 26-14 and forced a W&M timeout with 10:23 left in the opening frame.
 
The Dukes led by as many as 14 at the four-minute mark, but the Tribe held JMU without a field goal for the final three minutes and outscored the Dukes 15-4 over the final 3:43. Burchfield knocked down a pair of 3-pointers during the run, while Knight scored four points. Cohn fast-break lay-up, which counted due to a JMU goaltend, with 0.5 seconds left to cut the margin to 41-38 at the intermission. 
 
Individual Players Highlights
Sophomore Matt Milon led all scorers with 19 points and turned in his first career-double-double pulling down a career-high 12 rebounds. Classmate Nathan Knight notched his fifth double-double of the season and second in as many games with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Senior David Cohn added 17 points and six assists, while Connor Burchfield chipped in 15.
 
Stuckey Mosley and Matt Lewis led James Madison with 13 points apiece, while DeVelle Phillips just missed a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds. Dwight Wilson added 12 points off the bench for JMU.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 60.9 percent (14-of-23) from the floor in the second half and finished at 51.9 percent (27-of-52) for the game compared to JMU's 42.6 percent (26-of-61). It marked the ninth time in the opening 13 games that W&M shot 50 percent or better rom the floor and the second straight in CAA play.
 
- W&M connected at an 84.6-percent (22-of-26) clip from the floor throw line, including making its final seven of the last 40 seconds of the contest. The Tribe has shot 80 percent from the free throw line in eight games this season.
 
- The Green and Gold held a 35-27 advantage on the glass against JMU. Milon and Knight both tallied a game-high 12 boards in the win.
 
Notes
With his six assists on the night, senior guard David Cohn moved past the 400-assist milestone for his career … His 375 as a member of the Tribe are the second most in program history and only 35 behind the school record … The Tribe started 2-0 in CAA play for the first time since it won the CAA regular season in 2014-15 … It marks the seventh time all-time and the third under head coach Tony Shaver that W&M started CAA play at 2-0 … The Green and Gold has only started 3-0 in CAA play two times in 1994-95 and 1997-98 … Sophomore Matt Milon has scored in double figures in 11 of his 12 starts this season and each of the last four games … Sophomore Justin Pierce scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half, while Cohn tallied 11 of his 17 in the final 20 minutes … The Tribe recorded is 24th double-digit comeback under head coach Tony Shaver and the eighth on the road … It is the second time this season that W&M rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull out a win.
 
Up Next
The Tribe continues its road trip at Delaware on Friday, Jan. 5. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from the Bob Carpenter Center in Newark, Del., and the game will be streamed on Blue Hens All-Access. Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley 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.