HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Marshall used a strong close to the first half and a stifling defense to down the William & Mary men's basketball team, 84-64, on Wednesday night at the Cam Henderson Center. The Tribe (2-5) led 35-31 with five minutes remaining in the opening frame, but the Thundering Herd (5-1) scored 15 of the half's final 17 points to take a nine-point half-time lead on the way to the victory.
 
The start of the contest looked like a repeat of last season's 114-104 W&M victory over Marshall in Williamsburg as both teams were red hot from the floor. W&M, which shot 53.3 percent in the opening half, used a 10-1 run sparked by law student Paul Rowley to open up a four-point advantage. A Nathan Knight dunk with just over five minutes left in the half extended the Tribe lead to 35-31.
 
Jon Elmore (7 points) and Darius George (6 points) highlighted Marshall's 15-2 run to close the half. George scored six in a row to start the run, and Elmore ended it with a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to push the Herd's lead to 46-37 at the break.
 
In the second half, W&M's defense stopped Marshall on nine-straight possessions, but on the other end could only score three points. The Tribe was 1-of-5 from the floor during the stretch with three turnovers. The Green and Gold closed within 56-46 on a Thornton Scott lay-up at the 12:18 mark.
 
Marshall limited the Tribe to just 36.4 percent (8-of-22) shooting in the second half and only 1-of-10 from 3-point range. Senior C.J. Burks scored all 16 of his points in the second half to lead the Thundering Herd charge. The home team shot 42.9 percent (12-of-28) and connected on 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) at the free throw line in the final 20 minutes to pull out the win.
 
Elmore led Marshall with 26 points, including 17 in the first half, to go along with five assists. Rowley topped the Tribe with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting in a season-high 17 minutes of action.

Junior Matt Milon was the only other W&M player in double figures with 11 points, and freshman L.J. Owens chipped in nine. Classmate Nathan Knight tallied eight points, nine rebounds and five assists, while Justin Pierce added eight points, seven rebounds and four assists.
 
How It Happened
- Pierce scored seven straight points to pull the Tribe even at nine just over three minutes into the game.  
- The Tribe made five shots in a row to take its first lead at the 15:50 mark. Knight found freshman Chase Audige for a cutting layup to put the visitors on top 11-9.
- Marshall connected on five shots in a row to open up a seven-point cushion. Elmore scored eight straight, including back-to-back 3s, to stretch MU's lead to 22-15 with 12:21 left in the half.
- The Tribe scored seven points in a row in the span of 1:07 to retake the lead. Rowley scored five of W&M's points during the run, including a fastbreak left wing 3-pointer to give the Green and Gold a 32-30 lead and forced a Marshall timeout with 6:30 remaining in the half.
- In total, the W&M run was 10-1 as it opened up a 35-31 advantage on a Knight dunk with 5:02 left in the period.
- Marshall ended the half on a 15-2 run to take its largest lead of the opening 20 minutes. Elmore (7) and George (6) combined for 13 of Marshall's 15 points during the run as the Herd led 46-37 at the half.
- After a scoreless first half, C.J. Burks scored Marshall's first eight points of the second half. His 3-pointer at the 16:38 mark extended MU's lead to 56-43. He scored all 16 of his points in the second half.
- Defensively, W&M held Marshall scoreless for nine-straight possessions, but on the other end went 1-of-5 from the floor with three turnovers. W&M did close to within 56-46 on a Thornton Scott lay-up with 12:18 left.
- An 8-2 Marshall run pushed the home team's lead ot 66-49 with 7:47 left. The Thundering Herd was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line during the stretch.
- A Rowley old-fashion 3-point play followed by a Knight lay-up cut the deficit to 68-56 with just 4:52 remaining.
- Marshall put the game out of reach with a 16-2 run. Elmore (7), Jarrod West (5) and Burks (4) combined for all 16 of the Herd's points during the run.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Marshall forced W&M into 20 turnovers and outscored the Tribe, 21-9 in points off turnovers. The Herd converted eight Green and Gold miscues in the first half into 12 points. W&M turned it over 12 times in the final 20 minutes.
- The Thundering Herd finished with 10 steals on the night.
- After shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the floor in the opening half, the Tribe was only 36.4 percent (8-of-22) in the final 20 minutes and just 1-of-10 from 3. W&M finished the night at 46.2 percent (24-of-52) overall and 23.8 percent (5-of-21) from 3-point range.
- Marshall connected on 48.4 percent (30-of-62) shooting, including 52.9 percent (18-of-34) in the first half. The Thundering Herd shot just 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from 3-point range.
- The home team shot 85 percent (17-of-20) from the free throw line on the night, including 12-of-14 (85.7 percent) in the second half.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe returns home to face its third Atlantic 10 Conference foe of the season in George Mason on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
- The W&M-Mason match-up will be broadcast on Cox Communications in Virginia with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The game will be available throughout Hampton Roads on Yurview Virginia, Cox's channel 1011, while additional outlets include Fairfax County (1074), Fredericksburg (1077) and Roanoke (1009). The contest will also be available online at Tribe Athletics TV and CAA.TV.
- Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Andrew Phillips and Julie Leach 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.