WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team clashed with former Colonial Athletic Association rival George Mason in a back-and-forth, high-scoring tilt on Saturday afternoon at Kaplan Arena. In the end, the Patriots (4-5) shot 66.7 percent over and final 20 minutes to pull out the victory, 87-84, as both Paul Rowley and Nathan Knight's game-tying 3-point attempts in the closing seconds did not drop.  
 
In the first half, the Tribe (2-6) broke open a nip-and-tuck start hitting five shots in a row. Junior Justin Pierce knocked down a pair of shots during the stretch, including a 3-pointer, before freshman Thornton Scott found classmate Chase Audige on the break to extend the margin to 40-32 with 3:22 remaining in the half.
 
W&M led by six at the break, 42-36, and eight early in the second half, 49-41, following a Pierce dunk just over a minute and a half into the final period. The Patriots caught fire hitting six straight shots, including a trio of 3-pointers. Goanar Mar capped a 7-0 Mason run with a corner triple to give the visitors the lead, and a Javon Greene trey with 9:02 left pushed the advantage to 70-66.
 
The Tribe pulled even on a Nathan Knight 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark and narrowed the gap within a single possession on four occasions over the final five minutes. Each time, Mason found the answer. After W&M pulled within 83-81 on a Nathan Knight dunk with 2:48 remaining, the Green and Gold had two chances to tie or take the lead but came up short. Mason point guard Otis Livingston II, who finished with an 18-point, 10-assist double-double, hit a tough fading jumper to push Mason's lead back to four, 85-81, with 54 seconds remaining. Scott came up big for W&M knocking down a right wing 3-pointer to cut the gap to one just 17 ticks later.

With the Tribe attempting to foul, Greene got free for a Mason lay-up with 10 seconds left to give the visitors a three-point cushion. With just seven seconds remaining, Rowely had the first crack at the tie with a right corner 3-pointer that was off the mark, and Audige was fouled on the rebound. He missed the front end of the 1-and-1, and Knight corralled the rebound in the right corner. His buzzer-beating attempt looked good but hit the front side of the rim and bounced off.

Knight led W&M with 22 points, including 13 in the second half, but was limited to 23 minutes due to foul trouble. Pierce posted his fourth double-double in six games with 19 points, 12 rebounds and a team-high five assists. Audige tallied 16 points off the bench, while Rowley finished with 12.
 
How It Happened
- George Mason scored five points in a row thanks to back-to-back buckets from Jarred Reuter and led 10-5 just over four minutes into the game.
- The Tribe moved in front for the first time with a 9-0 run. Following a Rowley dunk, Audige gave W&M an 11-10 lead with a pair of free throws. He found Pierce on the break for an old-fashion 3-point play to extend the lead to 14-10 at the 14-minute mark.
- The visitors responded with six straight to retake the lead. Ian Boyd knocked down a 3-pointer, and Javon Greene scored the final three to give the Patriots a 16-14 advantage.
- Knight scored six in a row, including a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line, to push W&M in front 23-18 at the 9:19 mark.
- The Tribe hit five shots in a row, including a pair of 3-pointers, to take its largest lead of the first half. Freshman Thornton Scott found Audige on the break to extend the margin to 40-32 with 3:22 remaining in the half.
- W&M's lead once again reached eight following a Pierce driving dunk just a 1:32 in the second half. Mason scored seven in a row capped by a Greg Calixte putback to cut the margin to 49-48 with 16:43 left.
- After a Pierce triple, Justin Kier scored five straight for Mason, including a corner 3-pointer at the 15:08 mark, to give the visitors a 53-52 lead.
- The Tribe led by four, 59-55, after a pair of Pierce free throws at 13:04 mark. Mason hit six shots in a row to take the lead for good. The Patriots scored seven-straight points, including a corner 3 from Mar, to take a 67-64 advantage. The lead jumped to four, 70-66, after a Greene triple with 9:02 left.
- W&M pulled even at 72 on a top-of-the-key Knight 3-pointer at the 6:07 mark.
- Kier made a pair of plays over a 29-second span for the Patriots to extend the lead back to five. He answered with a 3-pointer, before finding Calixte for a lay-up to push the Mason lead to 77-72.
- An Audige 3-pointer at the 4:33 mark brought W&M within a point, 77-76, while his trio of free throws with 3:18 to play closed the gap to 81-79.
- W&M drew within a one, 85-84, with 37 seconds remaining on Scott's only 3-pointer of the game.
- After a Greene layup, W&M had two chances to tie in the closing seconds. Rowley's corner 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining was off the mark as was Knight's buzzer-beating chance off a missed free throw.
 
Inside the Numbers
- Mason shot 59 percent (36-of-61) from the field, including 66.7 percent (22-of-33) in the final 20 minutes.
- The Patriots, which entered the game shooting 33.1 percent from 3 and averaging 6.1 per game, connected on 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from distance.
- The Tribe finished the game with 12 3-pointers and shot 40 percent from long range against a Mason team that entered the game limiting foes to just 30.6 percent from 3-point range.
- W&M had a season-low 10 turnovers, but the Patriots turned those miscues into 15 points.
- The Green and Gold shot 80 percent (16-of-20) from the free throw line and outscored Mason, 16-5, at the charity stripe.
- The Tribe finished the night shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the field, including 51.7 percent in the opening 20 minutes to take a six-point halftime lead.
- Mason outscored W&M, 42-26, in the paint.
 
Notes
The Tribe knocked down double-digit 3-pointers for the third time this season and 138th under head coach Tony Shaver … Junior Nathan Knight scored 13 of his team-high 22 points in the second half … It marked his fourth 20-point game of the season, which ranks third in the CAA … He has 15 20-point games over the last two years … Junior Justin Pierce recorded his fourth double-double in six games … He is tied for the CAA lead in double-doubles with UNCW's Devontae Cacok … Freshman Chase Audige scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half, hitting 3-of-4 from 3-point range … It marked his third double-digit scoring game in the last four contests … The Tribe finished with a season-low 10 turnovers … W&M tallied 21 assists on 28 made field goals, marking its second 20-assist game in the last three contests … Law student Paul Rowley tallied his second-straight double-digit performance with 12 points in his first start of the season.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe kicks off a two-game stretch at Hampton Roads opponents when it faces another former CAA rival in Old Dominion on Wednesday night. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. from the Ted Constant Center in Norfolk.
- W&M heads to Hampton on Saturday at 4 p.m. to complete the road swing.
- Wednesday's contest at ODU will be streamed on ESPN+.
- 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.