HAMPTON, Va. – With less than two minutes remaining, the game tied and needing a play, the William & Mary men's basketball turned to its all-conference duo and they came through in the clutch. Junior Justin Pierce hit classmate Nathan Knight on a roll to the hoop, and the 6-10 center slammed it home while drawing the foul. After a near 20-minute clock delay, Knight calmly completed the 3-point play to provide the Tribe (3-7) the margin it would need in a 76-71 win at Hampton on Saturday afternoon.
 
It was not all that Pierce and Knight provided as the pair filled the stat sheet in the victory. Knight tallied a 24-point, 12-rebound double-double and in the process, became the 40th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Pierce finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth double-double in eight games. Both players dished out a team and game-high five assists as well. Combined they finished with 41 points, 24 rebounds and 10 assists.
 
The Tribe started fast, scoring the game's first eight points, and hit eight of its first 12 shots from the floor. W&M opened up at 23-13 lead following a Matt Milon 3-pointer midway through the opening half. Hampton (3-7) rallied to pull even, but Knight scored the final four points of the opening 20 minutes to send W&M to the locker room with a 38-34 lead.
 
HU's all-everything guard Jermaine Marrow ignited the Pirates in the second half. He scored 10-straight points as part of a 14-2 run to push the home team in front for the first time. In total, Hampton hit nine of its first 10 shots in the second half and opened up as much as a nine-point cushion, 52-43, following a Kalin Fisher fastbreak layup five minutes into the period.  
 
Law student Paul Rowley and freshman L.J. Owens started a 13-1 Tribe run to put the visitors back in front. Owens scored four in a row, before Rowley tied the game on a driving lay-up and gave the Green and Gold the lead, 64-62, with a left wing 3-pointers at the 5:14 mark.
 
After the Pirates hot start to the final half, the Tribe defense turned up the intensity. Once HU took a 61-53 lead with 9:36 remaining, W&M limited the Big South's newest member to 2-of-15 from the floor with two turnovers the rest of the way.
 
Marrow, who scored a game-high 31 points, but needed 26 shots to do so, put Hampton on top for the final time going coast-to-coast for a lay-up. He was fouled on the play and converted the old-fashion 3-point play with 3:50 remaining, but Owens, who scored nine of his 12 points in the second half, answered with a driving bucket of his own. In the end, the Tribe got the big play from Pierce and Knight, hit enough free throws down the stretch and added a strong defensive effort to pull out the win.
 
How It Happened
- W&M started the game on an 8-0 run. The Tribe scored five points in the opening 30 seconds to take the early lead. Sophomore Luke Loewe found a cutting Pierce for a lay-up and he was fouled. Pierce missed the free throw, but the Tribe got the offensive rebound and Milon knocked down a 3-pointer. Rowley added a triple at the 18:21 mark to force a Hampton timeout.
- The Green and Gold hit eight of its first 12 shots from the field. The Tribe lead ballooned to 10, 23-13, on Milon's second 3-pointer at the 10:27 mark.
- Hampton scored six points in a row, including the final four from Marrow, to cut the Tribe lead to 23-19.
- Milon ended a near four-minute scoring draught for the Tribe with a jumper, but back-to-back Lysander Bracey 3-pointers cut the Tribe lead 27-25 at the 4:38 mark.
- Owens answered with a 3-pointer for the Green and Gold and two Pierce free throws extended the lead to 32-25.
- The Pirates used a 7-0 run to pull even at 34. Bracey, who tallied all 11 of his points in the first half, scored the final five of the spurt to draw Hampton even on a pair of free throws at the 1:02 mark.
- Knight scored the half's final four points on putbacks. He followed up his own miss with dunk and then stuck back a Pierce miss just before the halftime horn to give W&M a 38-34 cushion at the break.
- Marrow scored 10-straight Hampton points as part of a 14-2 Pirate run to start the second half. His 3-pointer gave the home team its first lead at 43-40, before his old-fashion 3-point play extended the margin to 46-40 and forced a W&M timeout at the 17:47 mark. Akim Mitchell pushed the HU lead to eight capping the run with a lay-up just 27 seconds later.
- Hampton hit nine of its first 10 shots in the second half and the Pirates' lead jumped to 52-43 on a Kalin Fisher fastbreak layup five minutes into the period.
- The Green and Gold scored eight-straight points to pull even at 61 and extended the run to 13-1 to take the lead. Owens scored four-straight points, before Rowley's driving layup at the 6:30 mark knotted the contest and forced a Hampton timeout.
- A Rowley left wing 3-pointer gave the Tribe a 64-62 lead with 5:14 to play.
- Marrow went coast-to-coast off a defensive rebound, scored the lay-up and was fouled. His old-fashion 3-point play put the Pirates on top 67-66 with 3:50 remaining.
- After an Owen's driving bucket with 3:03 left put W&M back in front, 68-67, Greg Heckstall knotted things at 69 with a pair of free throws at the 1:49 mark.
- On the ensuing Tribe possession, Pierce found Knight for a dunk and the Tribe junior was fouled. After a near 20-minute clock delay, he completed the 3-point play to give W&M a 72-69 lead with 1:38 left.
- Knight pulled down three rebounds and hit four free throws over the game's final minute to help pull out the 76-71 win.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe finished the game at 44.3 percent (27-of-61) from the floor, while limiting Hampton to 36.4 percent (24-of-66) shooting.
- The Green and Gold knocked down eight 3-pointers, including 3-of-7 from Rowley. Hampton was only 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from distance.
- The Tribe finished with 17 assists on its 27 made field goals. Knight and Pierce had five assists apiece.
- W&M turned the ball over just 10 times on Saturday, marking the third-straight game that the Tribe had 10 or fewer miscues.
- The Green and Gold outrebounded Hampton, 42-40, thanks to 12 boards apiece from Knight and Pierce.
 
Notes
The Tribe started its most veteran lineup on Saturday, including sophomore Luke Loewe, juniors Matt Milon, Justin Pierce and Nathan Knight and law student Paul Rowley … Knight became the 40th player in W&M history and 13th under head coach Tony Shaver to score 1,000 points in his career with his pair of free throws at the 11:41 mark of the second half … Knight posted his second double-double of the season and 11th of his career with 24 points and 12 rebounds … Pierce recorded his fifth double-double in eight games and the 12th of his Tribe career with 17 points and 12 rebounds … W&M improved to 24-17 all-time against the Big South, including an 18-10 mark under Shaver … The Tribe has won 11 of its last 15 against the league over the last six years … W&M picked up its first win at Hampton since 2005 and improved to 13-8 all-time against the Pirates … Rowley scored in double figures for the third time in the last four games with 11 points in 22 minutes … Freshman L.J. Owens scored nine of his 12 points in the second half … Loewe played a career-high 28 minutes and tallied season-highs with four rebounds and two assists … The Tribe placed five in double figures for the first time this season.

Up Next
- The Tribe returns to action when it hosts Division III William Peace in the middle of final exams at the university on Sunday, Dec. 16. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
- The game will be broadcast online at Tribe Athletics TV via Stretch Internet.
- 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.