WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team returns home to square off with former CAA rival George Mason on Saturday in the game that will broadcast on Cox Yurview Virginia. Tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.

Tribe Athletics will host Holly Days on Saturday. Fans can help local Williamsburg families this holiday season by donating an unused, packaged toy, new or gently used coats or new hats, gloves, socks and underwear at the game. Individuals who make a donation can purchase a discounted $10 mezzanine ticket to watch the Tribe face the Patriots.

The contest 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). It 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.

Catch up with the Tribe through social media. Fans can keep up with W&M men's basketball by following the program on social media as well. Be sure to check out the Tribe on Twitter (@WMTribeMBB), Facebook (WMTribeMBB), Instagram (WMTribeMBB) and Snapchat (TribeMensHoops).
 

W&M News and Notes
- George Mason will be the final of three Atlantic 10 Conference opponents for the Tribe this season, which is a first in program history. In its last match-up against the A-10, W&M rallied from a 20-point deficit to down Saint Joseph's, 87-85, on Nov. 24. It marks the 10th-straight season and 21st year in the last 24 that W&M has played an A-10 opponent. The Tribe faces multiple A-10 teams in the same season for the fourth time overall and will have a chance to pick up two wins against the league for the first time in program history. Four of W&M's seven wins against the A-10 have come under head coach Tony Shaver.
 
- W&M and Mason rekindled a rivalry last season that dates back to the beginning of the CAA. The Tribe used a 10-0 run in the final three minutes to rally past the Patriots, 77-70, in Fairfax a season ago. The teams played for 34 years in a row between 1980 and 2013 prior to Mason joining the Atlantic 10 and both were charter members of the CAA. The Patriots hold a 39-28 advantage in the series, and its split down the middle at 16-16 in Williamsburg.
 
- Paul Rowley was named one of 30 candidates for the 2018-19 Senior CLASS Award®. The award recognized DI seniors with notable achievements in four categories (community, classroom, character and competition). W&M is one of three schools (out of 353 in DI) to have both a men's and women's player recognized as Bianca Boggs was also honored. Rowley, a second-year law student who graduated magna cum lade in just three years with a double major in finance and computer science, is the third Tribe player to be named to be named a candidate, joining Quinn McDowell '12 and Omar Prewitt '17. The CAA led all conferences with four players on the men's 30-player list. The 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award will be named in February.
 
- Junior Nathan Knight, who averaged 26.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game last week, was named the CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson National Player of the Week on Monday. He scored a career-high 32 points against defending Big South Champion Radford, before tallying 21 points, including the game-winner with 1.7 seconds left, vs. Saint Joseph's. He was also named to the watch list for the Lou Henson Award, given annually to the top Division I mid-major player in the country.
 
- Freshman Chase Audige was named the CAA Rookie of the Week on Monday, giving W&M the league's top rookie award two of the first three weeks. Classmate L.J. Owens received the distinction on Nov. 12, and it marks the first time since 2004-05 that two Tribe players earned the award in the same season. Audige averaged 17 points, 3.5 rebounds and two steals per game last week, including a career-high 20 points in the Tribe's win over Saint Joseph's. He started his first collegiate game against Radford on Nov. 20 as well.
 
- W&M erased a 20-point second-half deficit against Saint Joseph's thanks to 67.7 percent (21-of-31) shooting in the final 20 minutes. It marked the Tribe's third comeback of 20 or more points under head coach Tony Shaver and 27th double-digit comeback overall. W&M overcame a 20-point deficit at home last season against JMU and from a 22-point margin in 2015 against UNCW.
 
- The Tribe's freshman class has accounted for 93 minutes per game this season. W&M's rookies have produced averages of 25.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists through the first seven contests. The group has accounted for 33.9 percent of W&M's scoring, 31.5 of its rebounds and 43.5 percent of its assists. According to KenPom.com, the Tribe is the 18th youngest team in the country in terms of experience, averaging just 0.92 years per player. Against Radford, W&M started three freshmen for the first time since 1990.
 
- Freshman L.J. Owens has started each of the Tribe's last five games and ranks third among CAA freshmen in scoring at 10.6 points per game. He scored in double figures in four games this season. Owens ranks 24th overall in the CAA in scoring, 10th in free throw percentage (.842) and 13th in 3-point shooting (.400). 
 
- W&M currently ranks second in the CAA in field goal percentage (.486) and 60th nationally in the category. Over the last six years, the Tribe is one of two teams nationally, along with Gonzaga, to rank among the top 30 nationally in field goal percentage.
 
- In nine of head coach Tony Shaver's 15 seasons, the Tribe ranked among the top 50 according to KenPom.com in terms of assist percentage. This season, W&M is 32nd in the country assisting on 60.2 percent of its made field goals. The Green and Gold ranks second in the CAA and 54th nationally at 16.4 assists per game in 2018. Each of the last two seasons, W&M ranked seventh nationally in assists per game.
 
- The Tribe ranks 26th nationally according to KenPom.com in effective field goal percentage (56.5). W&M has ranked among the top 25 nationally according to the statistical website each of the previous six seasons, including No. 2 in 2017-18 (59.5).
 
- Junior Justin Pierce, who was a preseason All-CAA pick, has been dominant to start the 2018-19 season posting double-doubles in three of his five games. He is averaging 19 points and 10.6 rebounds per game and ranks second in the CAA and 24th nationally in double-doubles.
 
- Knight was named one of 21 players nationally to the Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award presented by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The 6-10 center was selected to the NBC Sports Preseason Mid-Major All-America Second Team in September.