ATLANTA, GA - William and Mary sophomore guard
Nathan Mann (Overland Park, KS) led all scorers with 21 points on 6-of-7 shooting overall, including 5-of-6 from the three-point line, as the Tribe's comeback bid fell short in a 79-70 loss at Georgia State, in men's basketball action this afternoon.
The loss drops W&M's record to 5-10 overall and 0-6 in the CAA, while the Panthers improve to 4-10 overall (2-5 CAA).
Mann scored 19 of his points in the second half, including 11 straight W&M points during a stretch of just 2:11. W&M junior forward
Corey Cofield (Newton, MA) came off the bench for 12 points and eight rebounds, while freshman point guard
Calvin Baker (Newport News, VA) had 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Senior center
Brian Hutt (Denver, CO) just missed his second double-double of the season with nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Malcolm Manier and Herman Favors led GSU with 18 points each, while Rashad Chase had 15 and Boyd Copeland added 13.
A layup by Favors put the Panthers ahead, 10-2, just over four minutes into the game, and a free throw by Brandon Cartwright put GSU ahead 27-9, with 9:12 left in the half. W&M could get only as close as 13 points the rest of the period.
The Panthers took a game-high 19-point lead on a jumper by Manier with 17:45 to play and led by 18 with 15:05 on the clock. Cofield opened a 10-1 run with a three-point play and Mann capped the drive with the first of three consecutive three-point field goals to put W&M within nine, 48-39, with 12:08 remaining. With the shot clock running down, Boyd Copeland hit a three-pointer to pull the Panthers back up by 12, but Mann hit two more from long range on back-to-back possessions to bring W&M within six. However, GSU went back up by 13, with 8:12 on the clock. Another three-point play by Cofield brought the Tribe back to within six, 69-63, with 2:28 to go, but W&M would get no closer, as the Panthers made eight of their 11 free throws down the stretch to secure the 79-70 win.
GSU shot 57.1 percent from the field in the game, compared to just 39.7 percent shooting for W&M. The Tribe out-rebounded the Panthers, 38-26, including 20 offensive rebounds for the Green and Gold. W&M had 16 turnovers in the first half, but made just one in the entire second stanza.
The Tribe returns to action Thursday, Jan. 19 at Virginia Commonwealth at 7:30 PM.
Post-Game Quotes from William and Mary Head Coach Tony Shaver
"I'm really, really disappointed in how we started the basketball game today. We just don't believe in ourselves right now. We somehow, individually and collectively, have got to walk on the floor knowing we're going to win, not hoping we're going to win. We just started the ballgame like we didn't believe in ourselves--very nervous with the basketball--and we've got to change that."
"What I hope we can do is gain our confidence in a practice environment and carry it over into a ballgame. We really haven't seemed to learn that we're capable at this point. For five of the last six games, we get down, then the guys give everything that they have inside of them, but we get down so much that it's difficult to pull it out. I think we've got to believe in ourselves a little bit more than we do."
"Nathan [Mann] got his offensive flow back a little bit tonight. As I told our team, we need that consistently out of these guys. He's not always going to make that many shots, but we need that kind of effort and poise out of our guys every day. To really be a good basketball team, we've got to learn to play well every day."
Box Score
