WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Behind a dominant second-half performance, the William & Mary men's basketball team picked up its 10th Colonial Athletic Association win and in the process joined a select group following a 96-83 victory over UNCW on Thursday night. The Tribe (17-11, 10-7 CAA) scored 58 points after the intermission, shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the floor with nine 3-pointers to erase a nine-point half-time deficit.
 
The Tribe recorded its fifth-straight season with double-digit CAA wins joining a list that includes just five other CAA programs in accomplishing the feat. It is just the eighth occasion in CAA history that a program produced five consecutive seasons of double-digit league wins. The Green and Gold's five-straight seasons with 10 or more league wins marks a first in program history.
 
Trailing by nine at the half, the Tribe quickly erased the deficit hitting its first four shots as part of an 11-0 run. Sophomore Matt Milon converted an old-fashion 3-point play on the fastbreak to draw W&M within one and force a UNCW (9-20, 6-11 CAA) timeout. Senior Connor Burchfield knocked down his second 3-pointer of the opening 2:31 to put the home team in front, 49-47.
 
W&M seized control for good thanks to an 8-0 run, pushing the margin to double-digit for the first time with six minutes remaining. Leading 77-75, sophomore Justin Pierce, who led W&M with 22 points, knocked down a pair of free throws, before Burchfield added an old-fashion 3-point play after knock down a jumper through contact. Milon capped the spurt with a triple to push the lead to 85-75 and force a UNCW timeout at the 6:03 mark. 

The Seahawks used a late 12-1 run in the final four minutes of the first half to open up its largest advantage of nine. Jaylen Fornes, who scored a game-high 27 points, book-ended the run with 3-pointers, including the final one of the spurt to extend the Seahawks lead to 44-35 with 1:31 in the opening frame.
 
Individual Player Spotlight
Sophomore Justin Pierce led the Tribe with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting to go along with six rebounds and four assists. Senior Connor Burchfield added 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting and five rebounds, while sophomore Nathan Knight finished with 18 points. Senior guard David Cohn tallied a nice stat line of nine points, 11 assist, five rebounds and three steals.
 
Jaylen Fornes led all scores with 27 points on 6-of-10 from 3-point range. Devontae Cacock recorded an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Jordon Talley finished with 18 points, nine assists and six rebounds.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) for the game, hitting 50 percent or better in both halves. W&M connected at a 56.7-percent clip (17-of-30) in the decisive second-half.
 
- Defensively, W&M limited UNCW to 39.4 percent (13-of-33) shooting in the second half, including 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from 3-point range. The Seahawks finished the game at 44.9 percent (31-of-69) overall and 35.7 percent (10-of-28) from 3-point range.
 
- UNCW outrebounded W&M, 36-31, including 15 offensive rebounds. The Seahawks held an 18-10 advantage in second chance points,  but the Tribe enjoyed a 10-6 cushion in the second half.
 
- The Green and Gold finished the night at 88.5 percent (23-of-26) at the free throw line, including 93.8 percent (15-of-16) in the second half.
 
- W&M dished out 23 assists compared to just 11 turnovers. The Tribe assisted on 14 of its 17 second-half field goals and only turned the ball over four times in the final 20 minutes.
 
Notes
The Tribe finished the night with 13 3-pointers, setting a program record for treys in a season and surpassing the 300 mark for the first time in school history …  W&M has 305 on the season, topping the old mark of 295 held by the 2009-10 team … W&M hit 10 or more 3-pointers in a game for the 15th time this season and improved to 12-3 in those contests … Sophomore Justin Pierce scored 22 points to record his eighth game of 20 or more points this season and his sixth in CAA play … With his three 3-pointers, senior Connor Burchfield moved into eighth on the Tribe's career list and has 171 in his four seasons … Burchfield recorded his fourth 20-point game of the season … Senior David Cohn finished with 11 assists, which ranks sixth on W&M's single-game list … Cohn owns a W&M school record and CAA-best six double-digit assist games in 2017-18 … His 11 career double-digit assist games are a Tribe record … W&M has now won 10 of last 13 games against UNCW and six straight against the Seahawks in Williamsburg … The Tribe tallied its ninth game with 20 or more assists this season … With its 23 assists, W&M has 498 on the year, which ranks fourth in program history … The Tribe is just two away from its third-straight season of 500 or more assists … W&M's senior class is tied with the Class of 2017 as the winningest in program history in terms of CAA victories with 43 over its four seasons.
 
Up Next
The Tribe wraps up the regular season welcoming regular-season champion Charleston for Senior Day on Saturday, Feb. 24, at 2 p.m. Prior to tip-off, W&M will honor its eight-member senior class of Grant Gittins, Connor Burchfield, David Cohn, Jamison Glover, Cole Harrison, Tommy Papas, Amir Shafi and Oliver Tot for their contribution to the program. Fans are asked to arrive early with the Senior Day ceremony beginning at approximately 1:40 p.m.
 
The game will be streamed 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.