WASHINGTON, D.C. – William & Mary's senior twin towers of Nathan Knight and Andy Van Vliet combined for 40 points and 20 rebounds, both posting double-doubles, in leading the Tribe to a 79-70 win at American on Friday night. W&M (2-0) trailed by as much as 16 points in the opening half but rallied to pull out its second-straight road win to start the season.
 
Head coach Dane Fischer became just the second W&M head coach to win his first two road games since S.B. Holt in 1945-46 and the eighth Green and Gold head man to start his career 2-0. As a team, the Tribe won back-to-back road games to start a season for just the fourth time in school history.
 
Knight posted his second-straight double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds, while Van Vliet notched the first double-double of his career. The 7-0 forward scored a career-high-tying 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting and added 10 rebounds for the second-straight game. Four Tribe players scored in double figures as sophomore Thornton Scott finished with 13 points to go with a team-high six assists and junior Luke Loewe chipped in 11.
 
American hit five of its first eight 3-pointers in opening up a 24-8 lead on Jacob Boonyasith's second triple of the game with 11:55 remaining in the opening half. The Tribe scored 14-straight points to draw even at 34 with 1:48 left on Knight lay-up. Knight, Scott and Van Vliet each scored four during the run, but the Eagles led 38-36 at the half.
 
W&M opened up a 49-42 advantage thanks to an 11-0 run early in the second half. The Tribe was a perfect 7-of-7 at the free throw line during the run, including sophomore Quinn Blair's old-fashion 3-point play to cap it.
 
American (0-2) retook the lead, 52-51, with an 8-0 run behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Connor Nelson and Boonyasith. Van Vliet's hook shot at the 9:43 mark gave W&M the lead for good, 55-54, and sparked a 7-0 W&M run.
 
How It Happened
- American scored the first nine points of the game, hitting 3-of-5 from 3-point range. Stacy Beckton, Jamir Harris and Boonyasith each knocked down triples over the opening 2:22 of the contest.
- The Tribe drew within five, 12-7, on a Tyler Hamilton backdoor lay-up off a Scott pass, but American answered with a 12-1 run to force a W&M timeout. Sa'eed Nelson, who led AU with 22 points, scored the first five points of the run, and Boonyasith knocked down a 3 to give AU a 24-8 lead and force a Tribe timeout with 11:51 left in the first half.
- W&M used a 10-2 run to cut the gap to eight. Graduate Student Bryce Barnes started the run with a pair of lay-ups, including a steal and fast-break bucket. Knight and Loewe capped the run with back-to-back 3-pointers to narrow the margin to 28-20 with 8:20 left in the first half.
- Sa'eed Nelson sparked a 6-0 American run to reestablish a 14-point cushion, 34-20, on a pair of Harris free throws at the 5:53 mark of the first half.
- The Tribe scored 14-straight points to draw even at 34 with 1:48 remaining the half. Knight book-ended the spurt with buckets, while Van Vliet and Scott each scored four on the run.
- W&M limited American to just one field goal over the final six minutes of the opening half, but that lone jumper by Sa'eed Nelson with 49 seconds left gave the Eagles a 38-36 lead at the break.
- Sa'eed Nelson scored the opening bucket of the second half to stretch AU's lead to four, but W&M countered with an 11-0 run, including a perfect 7-of-7 at the FT line. After Knight was fouled on a lay-up attempt with the game tied at 42, American was whistled for a technical foul, and W&M hit the subsequent four free throws with 16:22 on the clock to take the lead. Scott found Blair for the hoop and the harm 15:47 mark, and he completed the old-fashion 3-point play to extend the lead out to 49-42.
- American retook the lead with an 8-0 run. Connor Nelson and Boonyasith knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers, the latter of which gave AU a 52-51 lead with 12:45 left.
- The Green and Gold moved back in front thanks to a 7-0 run. Van Vliet's hook gave W&M the lead for good at 55-54. Loewe knocked down a right wing 3-pointers and Barnes, who had eight points and five assists, scored on a driving lay-up to push the lead out to 60-54 with 8:44 left.
- American pulled within two, 61-59, on a Harris 3-pointer, but the Tribe responded with an 8-2 run capped by Loewe's steal and fastbreak, euro-step lay-up with the left hand. The bucket gave the Tribe a 69-61 lead at the 4:53 mark.
- Back-to-back Knight baskets, including a two-hand slam off a pass from Barnes, pushed the Tribe advantage to double-digits for the first time at 75-65 with 1:12 remaining. W&M's lead reached as much as 11 on a pair of Scott free throws with 19 seconds left.
 
Starters
W&M - #1 Scott, #5 Barnes, #11 Van Vliet, #12 Loewe, #13 Knight
American - #0 Nelson, #2 Beckton, #4 Harrison, #23 Gasperini, #41 Boonyasith
 
Inside the Number
- The Tribe finished the night at 48.3%(28-of-58) shooting from the floor and dominated the paint, outscoring American 48-20.
- Defensively, W&M limited the Eagles to 37.9% (25-of-66) from the field.
- The Green and Gold forced AU into 13 turnovers and outscored the Eagles in points off turnovers, 15-4.
- The Tribe shot 79.2 percent (19-of-24) from the free throw line.
 
Notes
W&M won back-to-back road games to start a season for just the fourth time in school history and the second time in the last 70 years … Head coach Dane Fischer is the second W&M head coach to win his first two games on the road along S.B. Holt in 1945-46 … Fischer is the seventh W&M coach to start his career 2-0 … Senior Nathan Knight posted his second-straight double-double and 22nd overall … Senior Andy Van Vliet recorded his first career double-double and tied career-highs in points (18) and rebounds (10) … Sophomore Thornton Scott led W&M with six assists … Graduate student Tyler Hamilton blocked a career-high three shots … Knight surpassed the 1,500-point mark, becoming the ninth player to do so in W&M history (1516) … Knight is one of only five Tribe players along with Jeff Cohn '61, John Lowenhaupt '78, Omar Prewitt '17 and Thomas Roberts '93, to record 1,500 career points and 600 career rebounds … Knight moved into 12th on the Tribe's career rebounds list (650) … W&M picked up its first win at former CAA rival American in Washington, D.C., since 1995 and just its second overall in 21 games in the nation's capital.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe wraps up its three-game season-opening road swing at Wofford on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
- The game will be the first of four in the 2019 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic Powered by ShotTracker.
- Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Richardson Indoor Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
- 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.
 
Tribe fans can get an inside look at William & Mary basketball under first-year head coach Dane Fischer with the debut  'Dining with Dane' on Wednesday, Nov. 13. The monthly luncheon featuring the Tribe's head coach, which begins at noon, will be held at Anna's Brick Oven and include a buffet for $13.75. The 'Dining with Dane' series provides fans the opportunity to get Coach Fischer's thoughts on the season and upcoming games.