Saturday, Jan. 23, William and Mary men’s basketball (13-9, 7-2 CAA) defeated Monmouth (7-16, 5-5 CAA) 78-73 in Kaplan Arena during the Tribe’s annual Gold Rush game. Although the Hawks kept the contest competitive until the final whistle, strong performances from senior forward Noah Collier and freshman guard Isaiah Mbeng ultimately powered the Tribe to victory.
The programs had met twice previously, with the respective home team winning both matchups. In the most recent chapter of the series, Monmouth scored its first win over William and Mary, defeating the Tribe 68-64 on Feb. 8, 2024. Four Hawks recorded 10 or more points in that game, and they displayed a similarly balanced offense on Saturday, as four Monmouth players again broke the double-digit scoring threshold.
Despite its opponents’ wealth of offensive options, the Tribe began the first half with a strong stretch of play. A fast break layup from Collier opened the scoring for the Green and Gold. Graduate forward Malachi Ndur further extended the Tribe’s advantage with a layup and a made free throw. Within the game’s first three minutes, William and Mary had jumped out to a 9-3 lead.
The Hawks soon began to make up ground, their comeback sparked by a free throw made by sophomore forward Cornelius Robinson III. The visitors continued the run until a fast break 3-pointer by sophomore guard Abdi Bashir Jr. gave them the lead in the seventh minute of play. Monmouth controlled the game for the remainder of the period, entering halftime with a 38-33 advantage over the Tribe.
Monmouth dramatically outshot William and Mary in the first half, most notably from beyond the arc, as the Hawks made 37.5% of their 3-pointer attempts compared to the Tribe’s 10.5%. Monmouth also dominated in fast break points, scoring 16 to the Tribe’s eight.
Monmouth maintained its lead for the first 10 minutes of the second half. Robinson III was a consistent performer for the Hawks and finished the night with a game high of 20 points. Nevertheless, the Tribe slowly chipped away at their opponents. With nine minutes left in the game, the Tribe was able to tie the score 55-55 courtesy of a tip-in by senior guard Gabe Dorsey. William and Mary continued to push down the stretch to finish the game victorious, scoring11 of its 12 2-point attempts in the second half.
Mbeng scored the Tribe’s final basket, bringing his statline to 10 points, five assists and four steals on the night. Collier paced the Tribe with 15 points, Dorsey scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds and senior guard Matteus Case racked up 11 points and five assists.
Mbeng was named Coastal Athletic Association’s Rookie of the Week following this performance, marking the second time he received the honor this season. The freshman now averages 6.4 points per game and leads the Tribe with 74 total assists.
“[I feel] really good about the team so far,” Mbeng said. “Everyone has been working really hard in practice, and it’s great to see that it’s translated into some wins for us.” Mbeng further noted that the Tribe has a “chance to make history,” a fact of which he reminds himself during every practice.
As of right now, William and Mary is 7-2 in the CAA, tying for first place in the conference. Its only loss has been to UNC Wilmington, who the Tribe will face again at home on Feb. 20.
The Tribe faced Campbell (12-11, 7-3 CAA) on the road at Gilbert Craig Gore Arena in Buies Creek, N.C., on Jan. 30. Campbell won against the Tribe, scoring 96 total points over the Tribe’s 55.
Monday, Feb. 3, William and Mary defeated CAA foe Charleston (17-6, 7-3 CAA) 90-75 at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va.
Fans packed Kaplan with an electric energy, showing out for the highly-anticipated conference contest between the No. 3 Cougars and the No. 4 Tribe.
Charleston entered the matchup confidently on a two-game win streak. Just 26 seconds into the contest, Cougars senior forward and CAA Preseason Player of the Year Ante Brzovic started the scoring with a jumper.
Undeterred by the Cougars’ red-hot start, Collier responded with a dunk roughly 20 seconds later.
With 14 minutes, 28 seconds remaining in the half, Collier managed to cut Charleston’s 17-8 lead with a jump shot followed by a three-pointer. However, injury prevented Collier from continuing his streak.
The Green and Gold narrowed the Cougars’ lead to 32-29 with just over five minutes until halftime, courtesy of a jumper from senior forward Noah Collier. Much to the crowd’s delight, Tribe senior forward Caleb Dorsey evened the score at 32-32 with a three at the 4:26 mark.
Gabe Dorsey pulled the Tribe ahead by three points with a shot from outside the paint. Although the Cougars managed to equalize the score once more, the Green and Gold finished out the half with a narrow 41-39 lead.
At the end of first, Collier led in scoring for the Tribe with 10 points, followed by Pulliam with a close nine. On the opponent’s side, graduate guard Derrin Boyd and Brzovic topped the scoreboard with 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Green and Gold recorded a 46.9% field goal percentage, compared to the Cougars’ 43.8%.
The Tribe fired on all cylinders in the second half, starting the scoring with two converted free throws by Pulliam. Determined to regain Charleston’s lead, sophomore forward Lazar Djokovic responded with a dunk, followed by a Boyd layup.
With 15:25 left in the game, Boyd managed to tie up the score with a three-point jumper. Graduate forward Keller Boothby looked to keep the Tribe on top with a layup, putting the home team ahead at 50-48. Following a jump shot from Mbeng, the Cougars called a timeout at the 14:15 mark.
Thanks to a three-point jumper from Mbeng with 11:59 remaining, the Green and Gold extended its lead to nine points.
Despite efforts from the away team, William and Mary responded to a four-point Cougars scoring run with threes from Boothby and Pulliam.
Displeased with the Tribe’s 10-point advantage, Charleston called another timeout with 8:12 to spare. However, the Cougars failed to shake William and Mary’s lead.
The final five minutes saw explosive action from the Green and Gold.
With just under four minutes left, Gabe Dorsey scored a three-pointer and put the Tribe ahead at 82-72, courtesy of a Case assist. Less than a minute later, layups from Dorsey and Mbeng extended the Tribe’s lead to 14 points.
The Green and Gold capped off the exhilarating matchup with a layup from Ndur, finishing at 90-75.
William and Mary looks to continue its strong CAA play Thursday, Feb. 6 against Drexel (12-11, 4-6 CAA) at Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia.