HIGH POINT, N.C. – William & Mary head coach Dane Fischer has preached a defense-first mentality since arriving in Williamsburg, and on Tuesday night in his first game on the Green and Gold sidelines, that attitude came to fruition. The Tribe controlled nearly every facet and led throughout in its season-opening 70-56 victory at High Point.
 
Overall, W&M limited the Panthers to just 31.7 percent (20-of-63) shooting and 16.7 percent (2-of-12) from 3-point range. It marked the program's best defensive performance in three years. W&M held HPU without a field goal for nine minutes spanning the end of the first half and start of the second. Fischer became the first Tribe head coach since 1947-48 to win his W&M debut on the road.
 
Leading 30-21 at the half, the Tribe ratcheted up the defense to highlight a 14-2 run to start the final frame. In total, W&M held High Point without a field goal (0-of-9) over the period's first six minutes, while the guard combo of sophomore Thornton Scott (5) and junior Luke Loewe (4) combined for nine of the Tribe's 14 points during the run. The lead reached its highest at 44-23 on a pair of Quinn Blair free throws and never dipped below the final margin of 14 the rest of the way.
 
In his first collegiate start, Scott scored a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range. Senior Nathan Knight tallied a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, and classmate Andy Van Vliet just missed a double-double with eight points and a career-high 10 rebounds. Loewe finished with nine points on 3-of-4 shooting.
 
Van Vliet and Knight combined for the Tribe's first 10 points to stake the visitor to an early lead. W&M seized control in the opening 20 minutes thanks to a 16-4 run as the advantage ballooned to as much as 30-15 with five minutes remaining. Scott knocked down a two of his six 3-pointers during the spurt.
 
How It Happened
- Van Vliet and Knight combined for W&M's first 10 points, and a 6-0 capped by back-to-back Knight buckets, including a dunk, gave the Tribe a 10-5 lead just three and a half minutes into the game.  
- An 8-0 Tribe run opened up a double-digit lead as Knight followed up his own miss to push the W&M advantage to 22-11 midway through the opening half.
- The Green and Gold cushion ballooned to 15 thanks to a pair of triples from Scott. His 3-pointer at the 5:14 mark pushed the W&M lead to 30-15.
- High Point closed the gap to nine with a six-point run. Curtis Holland III started the run with a steal and fastbreak dunk before Bryant Randleman capped it up with a jumper to narrow the Tribe lead to 30-21 with three minutes left in the half.
- The Tribe scored 14 of the first 16 points of the second half to open up at 21-point lead. Defense highlighted the run as the Green and Gold held the Panthers without a field goal (0-of-9) for the opening six minutes of the frame.
- Scott added five points and dished to Van Vliet for a lay-up during the run, while Loewe scored four, including a 3-pointer. Sophomore Quinn Blair's free throws with 14:02 left extended the margin to 44-23.  
- High Point closed to within 16 on a Caden Sanchez 3-pointer, but freshman Rainers Hermanovskis and Scott hit back-to-back triples, and W&M reestablished a 20-point cushion, 63-43, with 6:51 remaining.
- The home team could get no closer than the final margin of 14. John-Michael Wright's jumper with just 1:53 left drew HPU to its closest at 66-52 and capped a 9-3 run.
 
Starting Lineups
W&M – #1 Scott, #5 Barnes, #11 Van Vliet, #12 Loewe, #13 Knight
High Point – #1 Wright, #5 Holland III, #11 Randleman, #20 Coleman Jr., #35 Sanches
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe finished the night shooting 42.9 percent (24-of-56) from the floor and hit 8-of-24 from 3-point range.
- W&M limited High Point to just 31.7 percent (20-of-63) shooting, including just 2-of-12 (16.7 percent) from 3-point range.
- The Green and Gold outscored High Point in transition, 21-11.
- W&M held a 39-35 advantage on the glass and dished out 15 assists on its 24 made field goals.
 
Notes
Head coach Dane Fischer became the 14th Tribe head coach to win his first debut on the sidelines and just the seventh to win his first road game … Fischer is the first Tribe head coach since Bernard Wilson in 1947-48 to win his W&M debut on the road and just the third W&M head coach overall to do so … Sophomore Thornton Scott made his first career start for W&M and erupted for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 6-of-8 from 3-point range … Graduate student Bryce Barnes and senior Andy Van Vliet started their first games in a Tribe uniform … Senior Nathan Knight recorded his 21st career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds … He moved into the top 10 in W&M, history in scoring, passing Kurt Small '92 and David Schneider '10 to move into ninth with 1494 career points …  He also moved into the top 15 in career rebounding, passing Martin Morris '65 and Omar Prewitt '17 to sit 14th place on the list with 640 career rebounds … Van Vliet pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe continue its three-game road swing to open the year at American on Friday, Nov. 8
- Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on the Patriot League Network.
- 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.