WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The William & Mary men's basketball team shook off the rust during final exams at the College with a 106-89 win over William Peace on Sunday afternoon. In its penultimate non-conference tilt of the year, the Green and Gold reached the century mark for the first time this season as it tallied a number of season-highs, including field goals  (36), free throws (28), rebounds (45), blocked shots (14), assists (24) and steals (8).
 
Junior Nathan Knight registered his second-straight double-double with a game-high 26 points and 14 rebounds to go with six blocked shots. Classmate Justin Pierce just missed a double-double with 22 points and eight rebounds. As a team, the Tribe's 14 blocked shots rank as the fifth most in program history.
 
Leading by nine, 55-46, at the half, the Tribe broke the contest open with a strong start to the final frame. Over the opening 10 minutes of the second half, the Tribe limited William Peace to just 3-of-15 from the floor and used a pair of big runs to extend the lead to as much as 29.
 
Knight and Pierce sparked a 10-0 run with nine combined points less than three minutes into the second half to push the Tribe margin to 19. Freshman Chase Audige, who had a nice all-around stat line with eight points, seven rebounds and five assists, scored six-straight points as part of a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach. He also found classmate Quinn Blair and sophomore Luke Loewe for back-to-back fast-break lay-ups as the Green and Gold advantage reached as much as 85-56 with just 10:34 remaining.
 
How It Happened
- Camden Ferguson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give William Peace an early 6-5 lead just two and half minutes into the game.
- The Green and Gold used a 9-0 run to take control. Four different players scored on the run. Knight found Pierce for a lay-up, before junior Matt Milon knocked down a corner 3-pointer. Law student Paul Rowley stepped in the passing lane and threw down a fast-break dunk, before Knight capped the spurt with a pair of free throws at the 16:15 mark to give W&M a 14-6 lead.
- William Peace drew within 19-15 on its fourth 3-pointer of the first half from Tyson Sellers with 12:22 remaining.
- W&M used an 8-0 run to push its lead to double-digits for the first time. Pierce knocked down a trio of free throws and Rowley added a triple. Knight capped the run with a putback with 9:31 remaining increased the margin to 27-15.
- The Pacers pulled within nine on six occasions the rest of the first half, while the Tribe's lead reached its pinnacle in the opening 20 minutes at 14, 50-36, following a fast-break Thornton Scott lay-up at the 2:18 mark. W&M led 55-46 at the half.
- William Peace drew as close as seven on the opening bucket of the second half. Trey Bryant's lay-up just 24 seconds in the final period closed the Tribe's lead to 55-48.
- Knight (5) and Pierce (4) sparked an 10-0 run to extend the lead to 19. Milon found Knight for a fast-break drunk at the 17:16 mark to increase the Tribe lead to 67-50 and force a William Peace timeout.
- Freshman Chase Audige scored six points in a row to push the lead over 20. He drove the baseline for a pair of lay-ups before his fast-break dunk at the 12:38 mark extended the cushion to 76-54.
- Audige's six straight started a 15-2 run for the Green and Gold. Freshman Quinn Blair added an old-fashion 3-point play and Knight knocked down four free throws, the final two pushing the Tribe lead to 85-56 with 10:34 left.
- After William Peace knocked down nine 3-pointers in the first half, it took until the 9:23 of the second half for the Pacers to knock down their first. They finished the game at 15-of-32 (46.9 percent) from 3.
- After hitting the 100-point mark on a school-record five occasions last season, the Tribe hit triple digits for the first time in 2018-19 on an L.J. Owens' 3-pointer with 4:16 remaining.
 
Inside the Numbers
- William Peace kept it close in the opening 20 minutes by hitting 9-of-18 from 3-point range (50 percent). By contrast the Pacers shot just 33 percent (6-of-18) inside the 3-point arc.
- The Tribe reached season-highs in both free throw attempts and makes in the opening half, going 16-of-24 from the charity stripe in the first 20 minutes.
- W&M hit seven of its final nine shots from the field in the first half and connected on 53.1 percent (17-of-32) in the period.
- The Pacers finished the game with 15 3-pointers and shot 46.9 percent (15-of-32) from distance.
- W&M connected on a season-high 28 free throws on 41 attempts (68.3 percent) led by Knight's 14-of-19 (73.7 percent) at the charity stripe.
- Freshman Thornton Scott led W&M with seven assists compared to zero turnovers as the Green and Gold dished out a season-high 24 assists on its 36 made field goals.
 - The Tribe shot 54.5 percent (36-of-66) from the floor for the game, including 55.9 percent (19-of-34) in the second half.
 
Notes
Junior Nathan Knight tallied his third double-double this season and 12th of his W&M career with 26 points and a career-high tying 14 rebounds … He has led W&M in scoring in eight of its 11 games this season … Knight scored more than 20 points for the sixth time this season and third time in the last four games … Knight registered six of the Tribe's 14 blocked shots on the game … It marked his fifth game of six or more blocked shots in his career … His six blocked shots rank 11th in W&M history … The Tribe's 14 rejections are the fifth most in program history and the most since tallying 15 nearly two years ago to the day against Milligan …  Graduate student Chris Clark, who spent his first two season at Alabama where he earned his bachelor's degree, scored his first collegiate points on a lay-up with 1:26 remaining …  Freshman Austin Washburn scored his first collegiate points on a driving lay-up with 24 seconds remaining … Freshman Quinn Blair equaled his career-high with seven points in nine minutes of action … Fellow rookie Chase Audige posted career-highs with seven rebounds and five assists.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe close out the non-conference portion of the schedule on Saturday, Dec. 22, traveling to No. 3 Virginia.
- Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
- 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.
 
Catch up on William & Mary men's basketball at the 'Luncheon with Tony' series returns on Tuesday, Dec. 18. 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.