HIGH POINT, N.C. – William & Mary men's basketball dropped the opening game of the Roman Legends Classic to Sun Belt Conference favorite Georgia State, 77-59, on Saturday evening at the Qubein Center on the campus of High Point.
 
Sophomore Connor Kochera led the Tribe with a season-high 16 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 5-of-7 at the free throw line. Classmate Ben Wight added 14 points on 7-of-11 from the floor to go with six rebounds.
 
The Panthers hit their first five shots from the floor, but the Tribe trailed just 12-7 less than four minutes into the contest following a Kochera free throw. GSU answered with a 7-0 run to open up a 19-7 lead at the 14:12 mark. 
 
Georgia State, which shot 55.2% (15-of-29) in the opening 20 minutes, seized control of the contest with an 11-0 run to extend its lead to 41-19 and force a Tribe timeout with 3:44 left in the first half. In total, the Panthers used the fast break to its advantage, scoring 17 points in transition over the first 20 minutes.
 
W&M turned in a strong performance on the defensive end in the second half. The Tribe held GSU to 40.7% shooting and forced the Panthers into 12 turnovers.
 
Graduate student Brandon Carroll topped the Tribe with eight rebounds. Freshman Julian Lewis scored a career-high eight points, and classmate Tyler Rice added a team-high five assists.
 
The Tribe wraps up play in the consolation game of the Legends Classic against Howard on Sunday, Nov. 21, at 5 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and fans can listen in to the broadcast over the Tribe Sports Network on The Tide 92.3 FM with Blaine McCormick on the call.