By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
To be sure, shooting percentages matter. But when William & Mary coach Dane Fischer studies the stat sheet at the end of a game, that category isn't the first one he checks.
 
That would be the margin between offensive rebounds and turnovers, which more times than not reflects the quality of possessions. And that, especially a down-to-the-wire game, can be critical.
 
So it was Saturday afternoon in Delaware's 73-69 win over the Tribe in Kaplan Arena. The Blue Hens shot only 38% from the floor to W&M's 46%, but thanks to the equation, they ended up with 10 more shots.
 
"Seven offensive rebounds and 18 turnovers for us is not a good number," Fischer said. "We were minus-11 in that. Delaware (had) eight offensive rebounds and 10 turnovers (for) minus-2. When it's a one- or two-possession, it's hard when you give away possessions with turnovers."
 
There were other factors, like Delaware outscoring the Tribe 18-3 from the 3-point arc in the second half, but not giving itself enough chances in Saturday's home finale was a major issue. Delaware trailed by seven early in the second half but took the lead for good with 6:23 remaining.
 
The dagger turned out to be Jameer Nelson's step-back 3-pointer, which put the Blue Hens ahead 66-60 with 1:39 remaining. W&M (5-24, 4-12 CAA) scored on back-to-back possessions to make it a 66-64 game on Ben Wight's basket with 31.4 seconds remaining.
 
But Delaware (19-9, 10-5) went 4-of-5 from the free throw line and got a breakaway dunk by Nelson against the press in the final 24.4 seconds to hold on.
 
"That was a really good basketball game," Fischer said. "I thought both teams played really well and really hard. On both sides of the ball, I thought our guys did a really good job of taking some of the stuff we talked about offensively and applying it to today's game.
 
"Defensively, we guarded them how we wanted to for the most part. One or two plays goes our ways, it's a different outcome. Credit to Delaware for making some big shots down the stretch. But I was pleased with our effort."
 
Freshman Tyler Rice led W&M with 13 points on 4-of-7 shooting, 1-of-3 from the 3-point arc. Classmate Julian Lewis (8-of-8 from the free throw line) and sophomore Yuri Covington (5-of-8 from the floor) added 11 each, and Wight finished with 10.
 
The Tribe shot its best percentage from the floor since a Jan. 22 win at Drexel. But factor in 18 turnovers, and W&M averaged a shade over a point per possession.
 
W&M attempted only 13 3-pointers, nine fewer than its per-game average coming in.
 
"The way these guys defend you, they're not helping a ton so they're not giving a lot of 3-point opportunities," Fischer said. "Where we've struggled is taking those 2-point opportunities and shooting bad shots. I thought our guys for the most part were better with that today.
 
"They were more patient in the paint getting the ball to the rim. That's why we shot the ball better from the floor."
 
It was the final home game for seniors Quinn Blair, Mehkel Harvey, Brandon Carroll and Austin Washburn. Blair exited with five points and four rebounds. Harvey had a difference-making game on the defensive end with six rebounds and two blocked shots.
 
Carroll had eight points, four rebounds, three steals, and three blocked shots. Washburn, a walk-on, knocked down a 3-pointer with 8:54 left in the first half.
 
Although 4-12 in the conference standings, William & Mary had either beaten or lost by single digits to every team in the league except Towson. Against the Tigers, the Tribe led by eight points early in the second half before losing by 15.
 
"It's always easy to say, 'What if we had these two or three go our way?'" Fischer said. "But you can go the other way with it, too. Some of the close ones we won could have gone the other way. The thing we continue to stress is to do the things that give you chance in every game you play.
 
"For the most part, when we've played the right way, we've really given ourselves a chance. And we did that again today."
 
Up next: W&M will close the regular season on the road against two teams it has already beaten: Northeastern Thursday night in Boston and Hofstra Saturday afternoon in Hempstead, N.Y.