ROCK HILL, S.C. – Bryce Baker's 3-pointer as time expired lifted Winthrop to an 86-85 victory over William & Mary in the opening game of the Rock Hill Classic on Friday evening at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center.
 
The Eagles (3-1) erased a 12-point Tribe lead in the final 6:30 and a seven-point Green and Gold margin over the last 2:30.
 
Senior guard Gabe Dorsey led four Tribe players in double figures with 19 points on 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Junior Kyle Frazier finished with 13 points off the bench, including 3-of-5 from 3, while graduate students Keller Boothby and Malachi Ndur added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
 
After ending the first half on a 10-0 run, W&M (2-2) jumped out to its largest lead of 13 by scoring seven-straight just 2:26 into the second. A Dorsey 3-pointer extended the lead to 53-40.  
 
Winthrop clawed its way back in, closing to within a point at 62-61 on a Baker 3-pointer at the 10:28 mark of the second half.
 
Dorsey sparked a 10-0 Tribe run with a fast-break 3-pointer. His free throws following an Ndur 3-point play pushed the advantage to 77- 65 with 6:37 left.
 
After the home team closed to within four, 81-77, on a Nick Johnson triple, freshman Isaiah Mbeng knocked down his only 3 of the game from the right side to extend the margin back to seven.
 
The Eagles closed the game on a 9-1 run to pull out the win. Johnson went 4-of-4 at the free throw line during the stretch. On the other side, W&M was just 1-of-4 at the free throw line in the final 13 seconds prior to Baker's game-winning 3-pointer.
 
W&M hit 14 3-pointers on the evening, its third game of double-digit treys on the season, and shot 45.2% from long range. The Tribe shot 43.6% (24-of-55) from the floor and was 23-of-30 (76.7%) at the free throw line.
 
Johnson led five Winthrop players in double figures with 17 points, including a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line. Baker had 16 points, hitting 4-of-9 from 3-point range, while Kasen Harrison and Kelton Talford added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
 
As a team, Winthrop shot 44.6% (29-of-65) from the field and was 8-of-24 from 3. The Eagles connected on 20-of-31 (64.5%) at the free throw line.
 
Nine-straight Winthrop points, including seven from K.J. Doucet, were part of a 16-3 run that gave the Eagles an early 11-point lead just over four minutes into the game.
 
W&M answered with a 9-1 run sparked by five from Frazier. A pair of Ndur free throws at the 13:48 mark closed the gap to 17-14.
 
The Winthrop lead against ballooned to double-digits with seven-straight points. A Baker lay-up pushed the advantage to 24-14 with 10:43 remaining.
 
W&M got hot from 3 in the latter stages of the opening half, hitting six in a row from distance. The final two of the sequence came from Dorsey just 19 seconds apart. The first tied the game at 39, before the second gave W&M its first lead to 2-0 at 42-39 with 1:26 left
 
Both Dorsey 3-pointers were part of a 10-0 run to end the half. Junior Kyle Pulliam's putback just before the halftime horn gave W&M a 46-39 lead at the break. W&M hit eight of its final 10 shots from the floor with the only missing leading to putback buckets.
 
W&M held a 40-35 advantage on the glass. Pulliam led the Tribe with six rebounds, while Ndur added five.
 
Up Next
Game two of the Rock Hill Classic for the Tribe will be on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. against North Carolina Central. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+, and fans can listen in over the Tribe Sports Network with Jack Angelucci on the call.