WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (Nov. 2, 2026)- The William & Mary Men's Basketball team opened the 2026-27 campaign with a victory over Bridgewater, 80-66, on Monday night at Kaplan Arena.
The Tribe pulled away in the second half to win its fourth straight season opener and moved to 22-7 all-time in initial contests played at Kaplan Arena.
In his Division I debut, Brian Carter Jr. made an instant impact off the bench, leading the team in scoring (19) and assists (4), while adding six boards. The Walters State transfer shot 8-for-10 (80%) from the floor in 26 minutes of action.
In his first regular season game in 598 days, Ethan Connery impressed in his W&M debut, finishing with 14 points on a perfect 6-of-6 shooting from the floor. The guard becomes the eighth Tribe player over the last decade to make six or more field goals without a miss and the only to accomplish that feat in his debut.
Will Feagles displayed his long-distance shooting prowess, knocking down four 3-pointers on Monday night in Williamsburg. The sophomore went 4-for-8 (50.0%) from beyond-the-arc.
ZZ Clark was the fourth Green and Gold player to reach double-figures in scoring, chipping in 11 points, one shy of his career-high, on 3-of-4 (75.0%) shooting from 3-point land. Stas Sivka added nine points, hitting a career-best six free throws on six attempts. Josh Baldwin led all players with seven rebounds and recorded a plus-18.
Bridgewater's returning leading scorer, Jahmir Brown, finished with a team-high 17 points for the Eagles.
The Tribe got a large contribution from its bench on Monday, accounting for 57 of the team's 80 points (71.3%).
In the early going, Connery added four of the first six points in his Tribe debut after missing all of last year due to injury. Nilavan Daniels knocked down a corner triple to cap off a 9-3 start to the contest.
After the Eagles pulled in front, Feagles knocked down consecutive 3-pointers to push the Tribe advantage to six, 29-23, with just under three minutes to go in the opening stanza. Carter Jr. nailed a 3-pointer as W&M connected on 6-of-8 field goals to end the opening half, carrying a 37-30 advantage into the locker room.
In the second half, the Green and Gold came out firing on all cylinders, tallying the first eight points of the latter half to complete an 11-1 that started on the back end of the opening stanza. Ward knocked down a straightaway triple as the Tribe lead stretched to its largest of the night, 48-32, at the 16:44 mark.
W&M continued to expand its advantage as Feagles splashed back-to-back 3-pointers for the second time, both off assists from Carter Jr. as the cushion grew to, 70-52, at the under-8 media timeout.
Down the stretch with W&M carrying a double-digit lead, Carter Jr. provided the exclamation point on his stellar debut with a one-handed jam with 1:46 remaining to carry the Tribe to an opening night victory.
UP NEXT
The Tribe will return to Kaplan Arena on Sunday to face local foe Norfolk State for a 6 p.m. start. Tickets are available here or by calling the box office at 757-221-3340.
