PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Trailing by as much as 12 in the opening half, the William & Mary men's basketball team battled back to take the lead in the early stage in the second half, but Duquesne caught fire from long-range to pull out its home-opener, 84-70, on Saturday night.
 
W&M (1-1) hit six-straight shots as part of a 16-3 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second to take a 40-38 lead on a Matt Milon jumper just 1:40 into the final frame. Junior Nathan Knight highlighted the run with eight points and a pair of assists, accounting for 14 of W&M's 16 points.
 
Duquesne answered with eight-straight points as part of an extended 28-6 run to put the game out of reach. In total, the Dukes hit eight-straight, second-half 3-pointers, and Frankie Hughes' second triple of the half at the 9:27 mark pushed the home team's lead to its largest at 66-46. Duquesne connected on 62.1 percent (18-of-29) from the field in the decisive second half.  
 
Knight topped all scorers and notched his 10th career double-double with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 2-of-3 form 3-point range, to go with 11 rebounds. He also led W&M with four assists and two blocked shots. Junior Justin Pierce tallied 19 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3, and nine rebounds.
 
Austin Rotroff and Eric Williams Jr. paced the Dukes with 17 points apiece and Williams added a team-best eight rebounds. Akron transfer Michael Hughes finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, while freshman guard Sincere Carry dished out nine assists.
 
How it Happened
- Duquesne scored the first six points of the game and started on a 12-2 run. Five different Dukes found the scoring column during the run, and Tavian Dunn-Martin and Eric Williams Jr. capped the spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening four minutes.
- Knight and Pierce combined for 14 of the Tribe's first 19 points, and Pierce's jumper from the left side cut the margin to 24-19 with 8:44 left.
- The Dukes used a 7-0 run to take its largest lead of the first half at 31-19. Williams Jr. knocked down a long 3-pointer from the left side to increase the advantage to 12 with 6:38 remaining in the period.
- With the home team leading by 35-24 late in the opening half, W&M closed on a 9-1 run thanks to a trio of Green and Gold triples over the final two minutes. Pierce knocked down the first from the left corner, before Knight beat the shot clock with a deep top-of-the-key 3-pointer. The junior bigman found freshman Thornton Scott for a corner triple to close the half-time margin to 36-33.
- W&M continued its run into the second half scoring seven of the half's first nine points to take its first lead of the contest. Knight's second 3-pointer of the contest tied it at 38, before Milon knocked down a jumper to put W&M on top less than two minutes into the half.  
- In total, W&M used a 16-3 run spanning the end of the first half and start of the second. W&M hit its final three shots of the first half (all 3-pointers) and its first three shots of the second half. Knight scored eight of the Tribe's 16 points during the run, including a pair of 3-pointers, and assisted on two of the other three made shots.
- The Dukes retook the lead scoring eight-straight points as part of an extended 28-6 run. W&M was just 2-of-13 from the floor during the run.
- After missing its first 3-point attempt of the second-half, Duquesne hit eight-straight treys and finished the final 20 minutes at 8-of-12 rom distance. Frankie Hughes (2), Dunn-Martin (2) and Rotroff hit multiple 3-pointers during the stretch.
 
Inside the Numbers
- W&M finished the night shooting 45.6 percent (26-of-57) from the field and was 8-of-20 from 3-point range.
- Duquesne shot 62.1 percent (18-of-29) in the second half to finish the game at 52.5 percent (32-of-61) overall.
- The Dukes connected on 12 3-pointers in the win, including 8-of-12 from distance in the second half.
- The Tribe outrebounded Duquesne, 35-31, and held a 17-11 cushion in second-chance points.
 
Notes
Saturday marked the Tribe's 30th all-time game against an opponent from the Atlantic 10 Conference and the first of three this season … Junior Nathan Knight recorded his 10th career double-double with 26 points and 11 rebounds … He knocked down a career-high two 3-pointers … Freshman Chase Audige scored his first collegiate points and finished with nine points, three rebounds and two steals off the bench in 24 minutes … Freshman Thornton Scott knocked down his first career 3-pointer to end the first half.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe continues action in the Gotham Classic traveling to the Midwest for games against UIC (Nov. 15) and Notre Dame (Nov. 17).
- W&M squares off with the Flames on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 8 p.m. ET. The contest will be broadcast on NBC Sports Chicago and ESPN3.
- The Tribe wraps up the trip at ACC foe Notre Dame on Saturday, Nov. 17, at noon. The game will be available on ACC Network Extra and the WatchESPN app.
- Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Andrew Phillips and Kris Sears 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.
 
Catch up on William & Mary men's basketball with the 'Luncheon with Tony' series starting on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The monthly luncheons featuring head coach Tony Shaver will be held at Anna's Brick Oven and gives fans an inside look at Tribe basketball. The luncheon will include a buffet for $13.50. Anna's Brick Oven is located at 2021 Richmond Road in Williamsburg. The 'Luncheon with Tony' series provides fans the opportunity to get Coach Shaver's thoughts on the Tribe's season and upcoming games as well as talk W&M basketball with select Tribe players and the Green and Gold coaching staff.