WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – William & Mary did the job on both ends of the court in Thursday's dominant 88-75 victory over rival James Madison. The Tribe (15-6, 7-1 CAA) shot 57.9% from the floor, while limiting the Dukes to just 34.4%.
 
Senior Andy Van Vliet equaled his career-high with 22 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 4-of-6 from 3-point range. He also blocked eight shots, becoming just the third Tribe player in school history to reach the total. Classmate Nathan Knight posted his nation-leading 16th double-double with 19 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots.
 
Junior Luke Loewe was nearly perfect from the field, connecting on 7-of-8 from the floor, including a career-high 4-of-5 beyond the 3-point arc, to post 18 points. Sophomore Thornton Scott dished out a career-high 11 assists, which is tied for the sixth-most in program history.
 
The Tribe started both halves with runs that were sparked by its defense. W&M scored the game's first six points while holding JMU (8-11, 1-7 CAA) to 0-of-6 from the floor in the opening three minutes. W&M hit nine first-half 3-pointers in taking a 14-point halftime cushion.
 
After scoring the final three points of the first half, the Green and Gold tallied the opening eight of the second in just 1:28 to force a JMU timeout. The 11-0 run spanning the periods extend the Tribe lead to 56-34 on a Knight 3-pointer. 
 
Defensively, W&M limited James Madison without a field goal for the first 7:48 of the second half, taking as much as a 28-point advantage, 66-38, on a Quinn Blair lay-up with 12:37 remaining.

Darius Banks led JMU with 24 points, including a perfect 10-of-10 at the free-throw line, while Matt Lewis added 22, including 12 in final 4:44.
 
How It Happened
- The Tribe scored the game's first six points and held JMU to 0-of-6 from the floor in the opening three minutes. Nathan Knight's driving, banking finish at the 17:41 mark gave W&M a 6-0 lead and forced a JMU timeout.
- The Dukes hit back-to-back shots, and a Darius Banks' left-wing 3-pointer closed the gap to 6-5 at the 17-minute mark.
- In total, the Tribe hit eight of its first 10 shots. Freshman Miguel Ayesa and junior Luke Loewe hit back-to-back 3-pointers to stretch the lead out to 19-9 with 13:49 left.
- W&M extended the cushion to 14 midway through the opening half.  Loewe and senior Andy Van Vliet connected on consecutive 3's to push the margin to 30-16.
- After JMU closed to 32-24 with 7:55 left, W&M held the Dukes without a field goal for over three and half minutes and used an 11-2 run to extend the lead to its largest at 18. Thornton Scott, Van Vliet and Loewe each knocked down 3-pointers during the spurt before Tyler Hamilton's free throws with 3:27 left gave the home team a 45-28 lead.
- JMU used 7-0 run to cut into the Tribe lead. Matt Lewis scored five-straight points and a pair of Banks free throw drew the Dukes within 45-34 with just over a minute left in the half.
- The Tribe scored the final three points of the first half and the first eight of the second to push the margin over 20 points. Loewe opened the scoring in the final 20 minutes with a 3-pointer and Knight added five in a row to force a JMU timeout. His triple just a minute and a half into the second half pushed the Tribe lead to 56-34.
- W&M hit five of its first seven from the floor in the second half. Defensively, the Tribe held the Dukes without a field goal for the opening 7:48 of the second half. The Tribe outscored the Dukes 18-4 during the stretch with Knight (7) and Van Vliet (6) combining for 13 of W&M's 18. Sophomore Quinn Blair's layup at the 12:37 mark saw the lead balloon to 66-38.
- The Tribe lead was 82-62 with 3:34 remaining following a Bryce Barnes jumper. Banks and Lewis scored JMU's final 19 points. The Duke used a 13-4 run to draw with 86-75 with 19.1 seconds remaining on a Lewis lay-up. In total, Lewis tallied the Dukes final nine points over the final 2:17.
 
Inside the Numbers
- The Tribe shot 57.9% (33-of-57) from the field compared to only 34.4% (21-of-61) for JMU.
- W&M connected on 12-of-25 (48%) from 3-point range, which is the second-best total for the Green and Gold this season.
- The Tribe dished out 23 assists on its 33 made field goals, which tied a season-high.
- The Green and Gold blocked a season-high 12 shots against the Duke. The 12 rejections rank eighth in program history.
- W&M dominated the paint, outscoring JMU, 40-20. The Tribe also held a 37-31 advantage on the glass.
 
Notes
The Tribe won for the 12th time in the last 14 games with James Madison and closed the Dukes series lead to 50-49 … W&M picked up its 15th win in a season for the 29th time in program history … It marks the earliest in terms a date (Jan. 23) that the program has picked up its 15th win since the 1948 team won its 15th on Jan. 17 … It is the second earliest by date that W&M has reached 15 wins … Senior Andy Van Vliet blocked a career-high eight shots, becoming just the third W&M player, along with David Cully and teammate Nathan Knight, to reach the total … The eight rejections rank fourth in W&M history and are the most by a CAA player this season … He tied a career-high with 22 points … Knight posted his nation-leading 16th double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds … He owns a double-double in six of the last seven games … With his four blocked shots, Knight surpassed 200 for his career … He is only nine away from 10th place on the CAA's career list … Sophomore Thornton Scott dished out a career-high 11 assists, which rank sixth in school history … He is just the 11th player on the 20th occasion to dish out 11 assists in a game and the first since David Cohn on Feb. 22, 2018 vs. UNCW … Junior Luke Loewe's 18 points were a CAA career-high … His four 3-pointers were a career-high … W&M's 12 blocked shots rank eighth in program history.
 
Up Next
- The Tribe continues its homestand beginning on Saturday, Jan. 25, against Towson. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
- Game sponsor Goodwill of Central and Coastal Virginia is offering a special deal to fans. Bring any W&M logo'ed apparel to the Williamsburg location (Richmond Road) and receive a voucher for one free game ticket to the Tribe's game vs. Towson.
- The game will be broadcast on FloHoops. All Tribe's remaining 10 CAA games will be streamed on FloHoops. A FloHoops subscription is $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month) and provides access to 130 CAA men's basketball games, as well as special features.
- Tribe fans can catch the men's basketball action over the William & Mary Sports Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM is the flagship stations of the William & Mary Sports Network and the audio is also available over the Web via the Tune-In app.