NORMAN, Okla. – William & Mary men's basketball out-played and led Big 12 opponent Oklahoma for the majority of their meeting on Monday night. Despite W&M leading for nearly 34 minutes, including by as much as 11, the Sooners (4-0) closed the game on a 10-2 run to pull out a 75-70 victory at the Lloyd Noble Center and hand the Green and Gold its first loss of the season.  
 
The senior bigman duo of Nathan Knight and Andy Van Vliet gave OU trouble all night, combining for 46 points and 20 rebounds. Knight, one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year, scored in every way imaginable, going 13-of-18 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from 3-point range, to lead all scorers with 30 points. He added eight rebounds to just miss his sixth-straight double-double. Van Vliet, the reigning CAA Player of the Week, tallied his third double-double of the year with 16 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
 
The Tribe led 68-65 with just over three minutes remaining on a Knight hook shot, but the Sooners responded with seven-straight points to take the lead for good. Brady Manek scored the first five of the run. He tied the game with a 3-pointer, before his dunk on the break gave OU the lead for good 70-68.

Van Vliet had a pair of clean 3-point looks on back-to-back possession, but could not find the mark. On the other end, Austin Reaves, who finished with 18 points, hit a tough jumper with 44 seconds put the game out of reach.
 
Forced to play without starting guard Thornton Scott, who is averaging 12.8 points per game, due to injury, the Tribe received a big lift from his replacements in the early going. Sophomore Quinn Blair, freshman Miguel Ayesa and graduate student Tyler Hamilton each hit 3-pointers as part of a 13-2 run to give W&M a double-digit lead, 19-8, nine minutes into the contest.
 
The Tribe led by two, 39-37, at the half after limiting OU to 39.5% shooting and 0-of-9 from 3-point range in the opening 20 minutes. Knight scored W&M's first seven points in the second half to give the visitor as much as a seven-point cushion, 46-39, just three minutes into the final frame.
 
OU responded with an 8-0 run behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Manek and Reaves. A pair of Reaves free throws with 13:08 remaining in the contest gave the home team its first lead of the night. Kristian Doolittle led Oklahoma with 19 points, but was just 7-of-21 from the field.
 
How It Happened
- The Tribe used a 13-2 run to open up a double-digit lead nine minutes into the game. Sophomore Quinn Blair and freshman Miguel Ayesa knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers to start the spurt, while graduate student Tyler Hamilton capped it with five in a row. He hit a left-wing 3-pointer and added a pair of free throws to give W&M a 19-8 lead with 11:17 left in the first half.
- OU closed the gap to two, 31-29, with an 11-4 run. Alondes Williams scored four in a row for the Sooners, including an old-fashion 3-point play. A Kristian Doolittle and-1 followed by a lob dunk to Kurr Kuath cut the margin to two with 4:14 to play and forced a W&M timeout.
- Senior Nathan Knight scored five in a row to push the Tribe advantage back to seven with 2:39 left in the first half. The 6-10 center made a spin move for an easy two before knocking down a 3-pointer from the left side to give the visitor a 36-29 lead.
- Oklahoma scored six in a row, including the final four from Austin Reaves to narrow the gap to 36-35 with 50.2 seconds remaining in the half.
- Graduate student guard Bryce Barnes made a nice extra pass with the shot clock winding down to Ayesa in the left corner. His 3-pointer gave W&M a four-point lead with 23 seconds remaining and the Tribe led 39-37 at the break.
- Knight scored W&M's first seven points in the second half with a variety of moves. He hit a short bank shot, before drilling a right-corner 3-pointer. His baseline drive and finish at the 17:59 mark gave the Tribe a 46-39 lead.  
- The Sooners answered with an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the game. Brady Manek and Reaves knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, and Reaves added the final two of the run from the free-throw line to give OU a 47-46 lead with 13:08 left.
- Freshman Rainers Hermanovskis answered immediately with a corner 3 to put the Tribe back in front, 49-47, just 11 seconds later.
 - Senior Andy Van Vliet scored W&M's next 10 points. He netted five straight before his second 3-pointer of the sequence at the 10:29 mark extended the Tribe lead to 57-51.
- OU scored six straight to pull even at 57. Victor Iwuakor scored four during the spurt, including a putback bucket to tie the game with 8:52 to play.  
- Van Vliet drove to the bucket for a lay-up to put the visitors back on top, before Loewe drilled a 3-pointer from in front of the Tribe bench with 8:03 left to give the Tribe a 62-57 lead.
- OU twice drew within one thanks to Doolittle at the 4:41 mark (64-63) and with 3:26 left (66-65).
- The Tribe advantage was three, 68-65, with 3:03 left on a Knight hook shot.
- Oklahoma closed the game on a 10-2 run over the final three minutes to pull out the win.
- Manek scored five-straight points to put OU on top for good. He hit a right-wing 3-pointer to tie the game at 68 with 2:48 to play and followed with a fast-break dunk off a De'Vion Harmon steal and dish just 34 seconds later.
- W&M twice had great looks at 3-pointers from Van Vliet at the 1:58 mark and with 58 seconds remaining, but each was off the mark.
- On the other end, Reaves knocked down a tough left-wing jumper with 44 seconds remaining to extend the lead to four, 72-68.
- A Knight bucket with 26.2 seconds drew the Tribe within 72-70, but OU hit 3-of-4 from the free-throw line over the final 20 seconds to pull out the win.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 46.7% (28-of-60) from the floor compared to 41.8% (28-of-67) for the Sooners.
- W&M knocked down double-digit 3-pointers for the second time in the last three games, hitting 10 from long range.
- OU outscored W&M at the free-throw line, 16-4. The Sooners hit 16-of-20, while the Tribe was 4-of-5, including zero attempts in the second half.
- The Tribe turned the ball over 14 times, which led to 11 OU points, and the Sooners held a 22-5 advantage in fast-break points.
- The Tribe outrebound OU, 40-35, on the night.
 
Notes
Senior Nathan Knight tallied his ninth career 30-point game … His two 3-pointers tied a career-high … Senior Andy Van Vliet recorded his third double-double in the last four games and second straight with 16 points and 13 rebounds … The 13 rebounds were a career-high for Van Vliet … For the second-straight game, graduate student Bryce Barnes tied a career-high with seven assists … Graduate student Tyler Hamilton started in place of an injured Thornton Scott and finished with five points, six rebounds and an assist in 27 minutes … It was Hamilton's second career start, first as a member of the Tribe and first since the final game of his freshman season at Penn.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe wraps up its road swing with at Pac-12 opponent Stanford on Thursday, Nov. 21. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. ET.
- The game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks.
- It will be the Tribe's third of four games in the 2019 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker.
- Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the Tribe Radio Network with Jay Colley 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.