HAMPTON, Va. — William & Mary men's basketball was edged out by Hampton in a nail-biter, 77-74, on Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

The Tribe (15-9, 6-6 CAA) led for the majority of the second half, but a late Hampton push that included a Etienne Strothers 3-pointer and a fast-break dunk from Elijah Kennedy off a steal in final 1:07 propelled the home team to the victory. 

Sophomore Ryan Jackson, Jr. led the Tribe with a career-high 18 points, converting 6-of -7 field goals. Senior Kyle Pulliam added 13 points, making 7-of-8 free throws. Graduate student Jo'el Emanuel and junior Reese Miller chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Miller added a team-high seven rebounds, while Emanuel added five. After playing his first three years at FDU, Emmanuel reached 1,000 points for his career on Saturday afternoon. 

Hampton (12-13, 6-6 CAA) jumped out to an early seven-point lead, 19-12 , following an Aidan Haskins 3-pointer just over eight minutes into the game. 

The Tribe rallied to take a four-point lead into the locker room. W&M held Hampton without a field goal for the final 6:50 of the opening half. During that stretch, the Green and Gold used a 14-3 run to take the lead. A Finn Lally lay-up in post with just over three minutes left gave W&M the lead at 35-33, and the margin reached five following a pair of Emanuel free throws with a minute to go. The pair from the charity stripe gave Emanuel 1,000 points for his career. 

W&M's lead reached as much as eight in the second half. A coast-to-coast lay-up off a defensive rebound from Emanuel extended the advantage to 49-41 with 14:45 remaining. 

A Jackson, Jr. lay-up at the 10:40 mark gave the Tribe a 58-51 lead, before Hampton started its rally. The Pirates used a 9-0 run to take its first lead of the final 20 minutes on a pair of Kennedy free throws with 8:19 left. 

W&M answered with six in a row to move back in front. Jackson, Jr. scored the final four of the stretch, including a back-cut dunk to put W&M on top 64-60 with 5:43 remaining. 

After Hampton briefly took the lead on a Xzaiver Long lay-up with two minutes remaining, Emanuel scored on a spinning lay-up to flip the lead back to the visitors at 72-71 with 1:31 left. 

The Tribe stopped the initial offensive set on the ensuing Hampton possession, but the Pirates pulled down the offensive rebound. Strothers knocked down a kick-out 3-pointer to give HU the lead for good with just over a minute left. Hampton then forced a Tribe turnover just 14 seconds later, which led to the fastbreak dunk for Kennedy to extend the lead to 76-72. 

A Jackson, Jr., lay-up closed the gap to two and the Tribe made the stop defensive as Pulliam blocked a HU shot. W&M had a chance at the lead, but Emanuel's top of the key 3-pointer was off the mark. 

After Daniel Johnson hit 1-of-2 at the free throw line, Pulliam had one last chance to tie from the left wing. His 3-pointer hit the front rim and bounced away. 

W&M shot 49% (25-of-51) from the floor, but was an uncharacteristic 1-of-15 from 3-point range. The Tribe connected on 23-of-32 (71.9%) at the free throw line and outscored Hampton 45-22 in the paint. 

Strothers led Hampton with 18 points, connecting on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, while also contributing three assists. Long posted a double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while Kennedy scored all 13 of his points in the second half. 

As a team, the Pirates shot 41.8% (23-of-55) from the field, but connected on 9-of-21 (42.9%) from 3-point range. HU was also 22-of-31 (71%) at the free throw line. The Pirates had 12 offensive rebounds and scored 15 second-chance points. 

Up Next
The Tribe travels to face Northeastern on Thursday, Feb. 12. The match-up is set for 7 p.m. tip and will be broadcast on FloCollege. W&M fans can listen into the radio broadcast on the Tribe Sports Network with Jay Colley on the call. The broadcast will be available on The Tide 92.3 FM in Williamsburg, the flagship station of the Tribe Sports Network.