WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - William & Mary men's basketball opened the CAA slate with a convincing 84-70 victory over defending league regular season champion and preseason favorite Towson on Monday night at Kaplan Arena.
 
The Tribe (10-3, 1-0 CAA) used a 17-1 run late in the opening half to take a 38-27 lead into the break and hit its first six shots of the final 20 minutes to open up as much as a 22-point advantage in picking up its third-straight CAA-opening victory. W&M shot 53.6% (30-of-56) from the floor and dished out 21 assists on its 30 made field goals.
 
Graduate student Jo'el Emanuel and senior Kyle Pulliam led the Tribe with 12 points apiece as W&M used in a balanced attack with all 10 players who saw action scoring, including seven with nine or more points. Senior Finn Lally added 11 points off the bench, hitting 4-of-6 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3.
 
Towson (8-6, 0-1 CAA) hit three of first four from 3-point range to take the early lead. Back-to-back triples from Jaquan Womack and Tyler Tejada gave the Tigers a 16-9 advantage just over seven minutes into the game. 
 
The Tribe gained control thanks to the 17-1 first-half run highlighted by its defense. After a Dylan Williamson lay-up gave Towson a 24-21 lead with 7:31 left in the period, W&M limited the Tigers without a field goal for over six minutes in which the visitor was 0-of-7 from the floor with five turnovers.
 
As part of the run, W&M scored nine points over a 57-second span to take the lead for good. After skying for the rebound on the defensive end, graduate student Jhei-R Jones knocked down a left wing 3-pointer to put the Tribe on top. Junior Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi made a steal that led to a fast-break, old-fashion 3-point play, before finding graduate student Cade Haskins for a corner 3-pointer to stretch the Tribe advantage to 33-24. 

After a Towson free throw, Lally scored in the paint, and Haskins capped the run with his second 3-pointer to give W&M a 38-25 advantage.
  
The Tribe started the second half hot, hitting its first six shots. Vahlberg Fasasi assisted on the first two field goals of the half finding junior Kilian Brockhoff and senior Chase Lowe for lay-ups. His 3-pointer less than two minutes into the half extended the lead to 47-31 and forced a Tigers timeout.
 
The advantage reached 20 on a Reese Miller 3-pointer, before an Emanuel lay-up gave W&M its largest lead of the game at 55-33 with 14:49 remaining.
 
The margin was 68-50 following a Vahlberg Fasasi leaner in transition at the 7:22 mark. Towson used its biggest run of the game at 11-0 over the next 2:33 to close to within seven. Jack Doumbia Jr. scored six during the run, before a fast-break bucket from Tejada cut the Tribe lead to 68-61 with 4:49 left.
 
The Tigers would only get as close as six on two occasions, the final of which came on a Womack lay-up with 2:42 left. The Tribe responded with six in a row and scored 10 of the game's final 12 points in picking up the CAA-opening victory.
 
Along with shooting 53.6% from the field, including 58.6% in the second half, the Tribe connected on 10-of-24 (41.7%) from 3-point range. Haskins, Lowe, Vahlberg Fasasi, and Brockhoff each scored nine points in the win. Lowe topped the Tribe with seven rebounds and six assists, while Vahlberg Fasasi added a career-high five assists.
 
Four Tiger players scored in double figures led by Williamson with 15 points and five assists. Tejada added a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, while Tyler Schmidt finished with 13 points, Doumbia Jr. had 12 points and Womack finished with 11. Towson shot 42.2% (27-of-64) from the floor, but was just 7-of-25 (28%) from 3 and 9-of-16 (56.3%) at the free throw line.
 
Up Next
The Tribe continues its CAA slate at home, welcoming Stony Brook to Kaplan Arena on New Year's Eve. The game will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network with Kayla Santiago and Sean Kearney on the call. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. from Kaplan Arena. W&M fans can listen into the radio broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley, Brandon Britt '14, and Bobby Dwyer on the call. The broadcast will be available on The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg, the flagship station of the Tribe Sports Network.