By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
Down 15 points with nine minutes remaining, William & Mary stormed back to take the lead with nine seconds to go. But Charleston had enough time for one final play, and the Tribe left town with a heart-breaking defeat.
 
John Meeks' basket in the post with 1.1 seconds left gave the Cougars a 74-73 win over W&M Tuesday night in at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C. Brandon Carroll, who did all he could with 16 points and nine rebounds, was just short on a rushed 3-pointer as the horn sounded.
 
W&M trailed 63-48 with 9:13 remaining but came back to tie it twice before taking the lead on Ben Wight's follow. The Tribe hurt itself with a 39% shooting night, along with 7-of-25 from the 3-point arc and 10-of-15 from the free throw line, but there was no quit.
 
"It hurts to lose, obviously, but we played hard for 40 minutes," W&M coach Dane Fischer said. "I thought we played with a really good focus level for about 36 minutes — the only time we didn't have that was coming out in the second half. 
 
"We got down by 15, but the guys stuck together and rallied. They made toughness plays and big shots to get us back in it. I was really pleased with the effort and the togetherness."
 
After Charleston began the second half with an 11-0 run to take a 45-35 lead less than four minutes in, W&M (4-16, 3-4 CAA) spent the rest of the game playing catch-up. With a 14-0 run, the Tribe cut the Cougars' lead to 63-62 with 5:24 remaining.
 
Charleston had a 72-71 lead and the ball when Meeks missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left. Kochera then missed a jumper, but Wight got the rebound. Falling to floor as he was fouled, he managed to bank in the follow to give the Tribe a 73-72 lead with 9.1 seconds left.
 
Wight missed the free throw, and Charleston called timeout with 5.5 seconds remaining. The Cougars got the ball to Meeks, a grad transfer from Bucknell, whose short jumper used up both sides of the rim before falling.
 
"I felt we guarded him pretty well, but somehow that thing bounced up and in," Fischer said. "I don't know what happened on that shot."
 
Carroll, who is averaging 13.8 points and 7.2 rebounds in his last five games, was outstanding. He was 7-of-15 from the floor, including 2-of-5 from the 3-point arc. On the defensive end, he had five blocked shots and six steals — both season highs.
 
"He's doing everything for us," Fischer said. "He can impact a game in so many ways because of his athleticism, and we saw all of those ways tonight. I love the way he's playing. He's giving us a huge lift."
 
Led by Carroll, the Tribe had five players score in double figures for the second time this season against a Division I opponent. Wight and Yuri Covington had 13 points each. Kochera and Julian Lewis had 11 each.
 
W&M held the Cougars to 36.6% shooting and outscored them 16-11 on second-chance points. The Tribe limited itself to 12 turnovers, the third time in four games with that number or fewer.
 
"To have the offensive numbers we had, the only way you give yourself a chance to win like that is if you defend, rebound and take care of the ball," Fischer said. "We did all three of those things at a pretty good level.
 
"We need to clean up our focus in that one stretch. And we've got to make our free throws."
 
NEXT UP: The Tribe conclude its four-game road swing at Elon Thursday night. The Phoenix (5-15, 2-5 CAA) is coming off two consecutive losses on a northern swing at Drexel (77-49) and Delaware (80-77).