WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — William & Mary men's basketball started fast and finished strong to knock off CAA leader and previous league unbeaten UNCW, 77-70, before a season-high 4,205 fans on Thursday night at Kaplan Arena. 

W&M (13-6, 4-3 CAA) used an 18-0 run midway through the opening half to open up as much as a 22-point lead and held a 42-28 advantage at the half. The Tribe led throughout and held off the Seahawks down the stretch by limiting the visitors to 32.8% shooting, including only 10-of-35 from 3-point range (28.6%). 

Senior Kyle Pulliam celebrated his Birthday by leading W&M with 16 points, going 7-of-8 from the line and grabbing six rebounds. He converted a pair of big 3-point plays down the stretch to lift the Tribe. Graduate student Cade Haskins scored all 15 of his points in the first half, nailing five 3-pointers and adding two steals. Junior Kilian Brockhoff was the third Tribe player in double figures with 13 of his 15 points in the first half, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and adding four rebounds. 

UNCW (17-3, 6-1 CAA) entered the contest on a seven-game win streak and unbeaten in CAA play at 6-0. The Tribe scored the game's first five points, including Haskins' first 3-pointer just 1:33 into the game. 

A UNCW free throw narrowed the margin to 12-8, before the Tribe hit seven-straight shots in ripping off 18 consecutive points to open up a 22-point advantage. Haskins knocked down three more triples during the stretch, before graduate student Jhei-R Jones found senior Finn Lally for a fast-break lay-up. Lally was fouled on the play and converted the free throw to extend the W&M lead to 30-8 at the 10:08 mark. 

The visitors drew as close at 12 with just 42 seconds remaining in the opening half on a Madison Durr 3-pointer. The Tribe took a 42-28 advantage to the locker room thanks to 7-of-17 shooting from 3-point range. 

UNCW closed to within six points on three occasions through the opening 13 minutes of the second half, but each time W&M answered to push its lead back to double digits. After UNCW closed to 64-58 with 7:10 left on a pair of Patrick Wessler free throws, Pulliam converted his first of two second-half 3-point plays on a drive to the basket. Brockoff followed with a lay-up off a dish from Jo'el Emanuel to extend the margin back to 11, 69-58, just 1:16 later. 

Greedy Williams scored seven-straight UNCW points and a Wessler free throw with 1:45 left drew the Seahawks to its closest at four, 71-67. W&M answered with another Pulliam and-1 on its ensuing possession. This time, Brockhoff found a cutting Pulliam who hit the twisting lay-up to extend the lead back to seven with 1:21 to go. Pulliam hit 3-of-4 at the free throw line over the final minute to preserve the win. 

Wessler led UNCW with a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds, hitting 5-of-8 from the floor. Durr also scored 15 points, highlighted by shooting 7-of-9 from the line. Christian May added 13 points, sinking four 3-pointers, and Nolan Hodge also added a double-double behind 10 points and 12 rebounds. 

W&M finished the night shooting 45.6% (26-of-57) from the field, hitting nine 3-pointers and 72.7% (16-of-22) at the free throw line. The Tribe outscored the Seahawks, 30-18, in the paint and totaled 19 assists compared to just 10 turnovers. Defensively, W&M had eight steals and five blocked shots. Senior Chase Lowe led W&M with eight rebounds and four assists to go with eight points. 

Up Next 
The Tribe wraps up its three-game homestand when it welcomes Hofstra to Kaplan Arena on Saturday. The game time moved up to a noon tip due to the W&M campus closing at 5 p.m. on Saturday and with consideration given to the winter weather forecast for Hampton Roads. 

Saturday's contest will still be televised on MASN with Jay Colley and Brandon Britt '14 on the call. The game will also be streamed on FloCollege. Fans can listen to the broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network with Andrew Phillips 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.