By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
For a five-minute stretch Tuesday night, William & Mary played some outstanding basketball. The Tribe dominated an athletic Old Dominion team by turning a 10-point deficit into a three-point lead.
 
Then something unfortunate happened: Halftime.
 
W&M couldn't fully regain its mojo after that and ended up with its ninth loss in 10 games. The Monarchs pulled away from what was a four-point game with seven minutes remaining for a 74-59 win at Kaplan Arena.
 
"I loved the way we played in the first half," Tribe coach Dane Fischer said. "I thought our defensive intensity was phenomenal. (Guard) Yuri Covington led the charge on that end of the floor. Especially the way the half ended, the guys just had a great look to them.
 
"Second half, we couldn't quite sustain that intensity for the entire 20 minutes. They really hurt us in the paint, which is something we talked about coming in as a big key. And our turnovers led to a lot of easy baskets for them. That really was one of the big differences in the game."
 
After trailing 25-15 with 6:03 remaining in the first half, William & Mary closed with a stunning 17-4 run that included three 3-pointers and two 3-point plays. Tyler Rice had nine of his 16 points in that span, and W&M led 32-29 at the break.
 
But after shooting 40% in the first half, Old Dominion (5-5) hit 68% the rest of the way. After Connor Kochera's basket cut the Monarchs' lead to 54-50 with 7:08 remaining, ODU made its final six shots and went 7-of-8 from the free throw line.
 
W&M (1-9) missed eight of its final 12 attempts and had four turnovers, which the Monarchs converted into three layups and a dunk.
 
"It's a process to learn how hard you have to play for 40 minutes," said Fischer, who played three freshmen and four sophomores Tuesday night. "We've made some great strides, but we're not all the way there. As the season goes on, I think guys will get more comfortable with what that feels like and be able to put it together for the full 40."
 
A big part of why W&M led at halftime was its 6-of-9 accuracy from the 3-point arc. A big part of why it was unable to sustain that lead was its 3-of-15 shooting the rest of the way.
 
"For the most part tonight, we played offense the way were supposed to play," Fischer said. "That's why we had success early. Some of those shots you get late in the game, fatigue might be a little bit of an issue. And you're exerting so much energy on the defensive end."
 
Kochera scored 10 of his 13 points in the first five minutes of each half. He finished with 10 rebounds, giving him 19 in his last two games. Ben Wight scored 14 points.
 
With Quinn Blair (five rebounds in 20 minutes) and Jake Milkereit (three points) back in the lineup after recovering from injuries, the Tribe was as healthy it has been since the second week of November. That along with his team's play in the first half gives Fischer reason for optimism.
 
"We've got a pyramid that we focus on in our locker room," Fischer said. "The bottom layer is core values, the next level is preparation, and the third layer is performance. The top layer says results. For us to get the results we want, we've got to have those bottom three layers rock solid.
 
"I thought this one of our better and maybe our most complete game we've played despite what the final score says. It's not good enough and it's not where we want to be, but we're trending in the right direction."
 
NEXT UP: For the first time this season, W&M will play consecutive home games as it hosts Hampton University (3-6) Thursday night. The Tribe will play Fairfield at Kaplan on Saturday.