TRIBE 76, TOWSON 54
When the College of William and Mary (9-17, 4-12 CAA) played Towson University Jan. 28, junior guard David Schneider sat out with an ankle injury while the Tribe committed 22 turnovers in a 69-59 home loss.
Fast-forward three weeks to Wednesday night’s rematch with Towson: Schneider scores 26 points, grabs 9 rebounds and plays 31 minutes in the College’s 76-54 win.
“It was one of those games where once you get in a good rhythm and good flow it was kind of easy,” Schneider said on the Tribe Radio postgame show.
Schneider punished the Tigers (9-19, 4-12 CAA) with dribble-drives, pull-up jumpers and his trademark long-range shots in leading the Tribe to its first win at Towson since 2005.
He capped off the team’s 23-7 second-half run with 8 consecutive points, including two old-fashioned three-point plays on drives to the basket. The College continued to pull away after that, shredding the Towson defense for easy baskets and building the lead to 73-47 – its largest of the game with 3:55 remaining. Over the game’s final 15:23, the Tribe outscored Towson 34-17.
“We’ve been playing well,” Head Coach Tony Shaver said. “Our execution tonight was as good as it’s been all year long.”
The Tribe shot 53.3 percent from the floor in the second half as Schneider and freshman forward Quinn McDowell combined for 29 second-half points. McDowell, who scored only 2 points in the first, went 5 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from three-point range in the second, to finish with a game-total of 16.
“Quinn has played phenomenal as a freshman,” Schneider said. “I have more confidence in him now than I’ve ever really had. It’s been building as the season has gone on.”
In the first half, the Tribe raced out to a 16-4 lead before Towson guard Josh Thornton brought the Tigers back into the game with his three-point shooting, hitting 3 of 6 from deep for 11 first-half points. Thornton’s third three of the half cut the Tribe’s lead to 29-25, and the College entered the half leading 31-27.
Junior forward Danny Sumner and sophomore forward Marcus Kitts chipped in with 9 and 8 points, respectively.
The Tribe hosts Manhattan University tomorrow at 2 p.m. in a non-conference game as part of the ESPNU BracketBusters.
