Despite a career-high 30 points from All-CAA forward Quinn McDowell, the William and Mary men’s basketball team could not overcome the hot shooting of Longwood, dropping an 83-81 road decision on Wednesday night. W&M falls to 4-8 on the season, while the Lancers improve to 5-11 overall.
McDowell scored 18 of his game-high 30 in the opening half and finished the night shooting 11-of-14 from the floor, 3-of-5 from 3-point range and a perfect 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Freshman guard Brandon Britt, making his first collegiate start, scored 15 points and dished out a career-high five assists compared to just one turnover in 30 minutes of action.
For the game, Longwood shot 55.4 percent (31-of-56) from the floor and did most of its damage from 3-point range connecting on 11-of-24 from deep. W&M dropped its first game under head coach Tony Shaver when shooting 50 percent or better from the field, after entering the game at 32-0, as it hit on a season-best 56.9 percent (33-of-58) from the field. The Green and Gold also held a 34-23 advantage on the glass, led by a career-high 10 rebounds from sophomore forward Kyle Gaillard.
W&M led by six at the half before a 9-2 run from Longwood just over five minutes into the second half gave the Lancers their first lead since early in the contest. Durann Neil followed a 3-pointer from Martiz Washington with one of his own to put Longwood on top 53-52 at the 14:31 mark.
Freshman guard Julian Boatner answered right back with a long range bucket to put the Tribe back on top, 55-53, and ignited an eight-point run. After sophomore guard Matt Rum found Gaillard for a dunk, junior JohnMark Ludwick hit a 3-pointer from the left wing to give the College a 60-53 lead with 12:33 remaining.
The Lancers would not go away though, scoring 15 of the game’s next 18 points to open up a five-point lead. Jeremiah Bowman started the run with five straight points, including a conventional 3-point play, before Aaron Mitchell and Antwan Carter combined for the final 10 points on the run to give the Lancers a 68-63 advantage with 6:42 remaining.
Longwood led 70-65, before McDowell rose to the occasion to knot things up. After a driving bucket from the junior captain, Britt found McDowell for a 3-pointer from the left wing with 5:06 remaining to tie the game at 70.
Mitchell responded for the Lancers scoring six straight points to open up a 76-70 advantage with 3:52 remaining. The Longwood lead reached its largest at 79-72 following a 3-pointer from Jan van der Kooij with three minutes remaining.
W&M closed a three points at 79-76 and had a pair of chances to tie the contest over the final minute. McDowell missed a 3-pointer from the left wing with 55 seconds remaining, and following a missed 1-and-1 opportunity for Longwood, Britt’s triple from roughly the same spot with 24 seconds remaining was off long. The Lancers connected on 4-of-6 from the free throw line over the final 15 seconds to hold on for the 83-81 win.
Senior forward Marcus Kitts finished with 12 points on a perfect 6-of-6 from the field. Freshman forward Tim Rusthoven tallied eight points and seven rebounds in 14 minutes of action off the bench for the Green and Gold, while Boatner added six points on 2-of-3 from 3-point range.
The Tribe opened up a double-digit advantage in the early going with a 9-0 run out of the under eight-minute media timeout in the first half. A 3-pointer from Longwood’s David Robinson closed the Lancers within 23-20 at the 7:31 mark, before W&M scored the game’s next nine point to take its largest lead at 12. McDowell started things off with a 3-pointer from the top of the key before Britt and McDowell converted 3-point plays the old fashion way on back-to-back possessions to give the College a 32-20 lead with 6:07 remaining in the first half.
The Lancers were able to close within six points at the intermission on a tough 3-pointer from the left wing by Bowman as the shot clock expired with 18 seconds remaining in the frame. In the opening 20 minutes, both teams shot the ball well from the field. The College hit on 60 percent (18-of-30) from the floor, while Longwood connected on 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from the field and was 6-of-11 from 3-point range.
Washington led Longwood with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from 3-point range to go along with six assists. Bowman finished with 18 points, while Carter tallied 17 points and eight rebounds.
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