William and Mary men’s basketball (16-11, 10-4 CAA) strung together back-to-back victories during last week’s two-game homestand, defeating Coastal Athletic Association rivals Hofstra (12-15, 4-10 CAA) and Drexel (13-14, 5-9 CAA). With the wins, the Tribe snapped its two-game losing streak and moved into a three-way for third place in the CAA standings.
The Green and Gold now sports a 12-0 record in games played at Kaplan Arena this season, making it one of just 15 teams in the nation that remains undefeated at home. William and Mary is one victory away from matching the program’s single-season record for home wins, which is currently held by the 2016-2017 team.
The Tribe’s success has been bolstered by vigorous support from the Williamsburg community. The Hofstra game drew 2,855 fans, while the Drexel game drew 5,103 fans, the largest crowd to witness a William and Mary basketball game since 2020.
“[The support] helps us a lot,” senior guard Matteus Case said. “It’s fun. I mean, it’s stuff that you dream of as a kid, having the big crowds when you make a big play. It’s been great. The students, they see us on campus, they talk to us about the games.”
“[The support] is definitely fun. It helps us a lot,” senior guard Gabe Dorsey added. “It’s our sixth man. Like [Matteus] said, when you make a big play, big shot, or big rebound, it pumps us up.”
Thursday, Feb. 13, William and Mary knocked off Hofstra 61-60 in a back-and-forth matchup in Kaplan Arena that was contested until its final seconds. The thriller marked another chapter in a hard-fought rivalry: of the programs’ last 31 meetings, 18 have been decided by single digits. Both the Tribe and the Pride entered the afternoon on losing streaks, with the latter seeking revenge for a Jan. 2 loss it suffered at the hands of the Green and Gold.
Catalyzed by eight quick points from Gabe Dorsey, the Tribe jumped out to a 15-6 lead. A scoring spurt from Hofstra sophomore guard Cruz Davis briefly put the Pride back in the game, but buckets from junior guard Chase Lowe, graduate student forward Malachi Ndur and freshman guard Ryan Jackson slingshotted William and Mary back into control. With 6 minutes, 37 seconds remaining in the half, Gabe Dorsey was fouled on a three-point attempt and drained all of his foul shots, extending the Tribe advantage to nine points.
With fewer than four minutes left on the first-half clock, the Green and Gold led by ten. It was then when Hofstra turned on its defensive pressure, forcing five Tribe turnovers over three minutes. The visitors capitalized on William and Mary’s sloppiness and surged in front. Davis nailed two threes, senior guard TJ Gadsden tossed in another triple and the Pride took an improbable 34-33 lead into the locker room.
Although the hosts rattled off a 17-10 run after the break, they couldn’t find a way to put their opponents away. With his team trailing 51-44, Hofstra senior guard German Plotnikov connected on a triple to bring the Pride within striking distance with eight minutes left in the game. Lowe and Case responded with buckets of their own, but Davis finished two fast-break layups and Hofstra junior guard Jaquan Sanders hit a triple. Suddenly, the visitors led 56-55.
William and Mary wasted no time seizing back the momentum. Less than a minute after Sanders put the Pride in front, Case split two defenders and threw down a ferocious one-hand slam that Tribe Sports Network announcer Andrew Phillips described as “the dunk of the year,” igniting the Kaplan Arena faithful. Moments later, Lowe banked in a layup to give William and Mary a 59-56 lead at the 1 minute, 36-second mark.
However, the Pride refused to go down without a fight. With 1 minute, and 14 seconds remaining, Gadsden connected on a jumper that cut the Tribe lead to one point. Senior forward Caleb Dorsey proceeded to turn the ball over, and Hofstra sophomore guard Jean Aranguren backed down William and Mary freshman guard Isaiah Mbeng to muscle in a go-ahead layup with 13 seconds left on the clock.
Although the Tribe had one timeout left in its pocket, head coach Brian Earl elected not to use it, instead trusting Lowe to bring the ball up the court and run the offense himself. The senior guard navigated a maze of Hofstra defenders and finished a difficult two-pointer, putting the Tribe back in front with fewer than five seconds left in the game. Case stole the Pride’s subsequent inbounds pass and threw it into the air, sealing the 61-60 William and Mary victory. Lowe finished the game with 15 points, leading the Tribe in scoring on the night.
Saturday, Feb. 15, William and Mary men’s basketball (16-11, 10-4 CAA) defeated Drexel (13-14, 5-9 CAA) 72-59. The game started slow for both sides, with each team committing a turnover in its first offensive possession. The Tribe drew first blood after a driving Lowe kicked the ball out to graduate student forward Keller Boothby for a wing three-pointer at the 18-minute, 29-second mark.
William and Mary began the game in zone defense, daring Drexel to make their shots. Junior guard Jason Drake accepted the Tribe’s challenge, draining a three-pointer to put Drexel on the scoreboard.
Gabe Dorsey started the game cold, missing his first three-point attempt and both of his first two free throws. Nevertheless, he sank a three-pointer from the wing to tie the game at 11. The Tribe began to implement a press, hoping to force turnovers, but the Dragons successfully navigated through it. A three from sophomore guard Shane Blakeney gave Drexel the lead again.
While implementing the press, the Green and Gold also changed into a man defense. Despite defensive hustle and good rebounding effort from the Tribe, Drexel players continued to find offensive success, with Blakeney converting a mid-range elbow jumper and junior guard Kobe MaGee draining a three-pointer.
Case answered by driving into the paint and kicking the ball out to Ndur for a three-pointer to tie the game at 21-21 with 8:13 left in the first half. After a period of back-and-forth scoring, Gabe Dorsey turned an ugly offensive possession into his third three-pointer of the game, draining a deep three as time expired on the shot clock.
Butler answered for Drexel with a contested layup, drawing the and-1 call. Converting the free throw, Drexel strengthened its lead at 33-29 with 3:19 left in the half.
On the next possession, Lowe found Case cutting the baseline for an easy score. It was clear that having Lowe facilitate the ball to cutting players was an area of focus for the Green and Gold, as many offensive sets were run in this manner.
Following a pair of free throws from Lowe and another and-1 layup by Butler, the Tribe found itself entering the locker room trailing 43-38.
Case got the scoring started on the other side of the break, cutting to the basket for an easy two points. With Drexel failing to score on their first possession, Lowe found Gabe Dorsey on the wing. After a pump fake caused the defender to fly by, Gabe Dorsey took one dribble and nailed his fifth three-pointer of the game.
Drexel’s first points of the second half came from junior forward Cole Hargrove posting up Ndur and getting to the cup for two. Drake doubled up with a layup of his own, increasing the lead to 47-43.
Early into the second half, rebounding was an area of concern for the Tribe. Several Drexel scores resulted due to second-chance points from offensive boards.
The Tribe still managed to claw their way back thanks to a continued strong scoring effort by Case. With 10:23 remaining in the game, Case drove to the basket for a layup and tied the game at 51-51.
The Tribe was finally in striking distance after not holding a lead since the 12:26 mark of the first half. After a Drexel three-point attempt air-balled, Case pushed the ball down the court, where it went out of bounds on a blocked layup attempt. On the inbounds, the ball was swung to Caleb Dorsey at the top of the key. He laced a three-pointer to give the Tribe a 54-51 lead.
Drexel called a timeout, looking to regroup as all of Kaplan Arena erupted out of their seats.
Back-and-forth scoring followed, culminating in a Caleb Dorsey wing three-ball to give the Green and Gold the lead 60-57.
As time dwindled on the clock, both teams went scoreless for a couple of minutes as the respective defenses forced turnovers from the other side.
Ndur broke the deadlock at the 4:15 mark after he was sent to the free throw line off of a foul on MaGee. The forward converted one of two free throws to extend the Tribe lead by one.
Following a good defensive possession, Mbeng found a lane to the hoop before passing the ball back out to a wide-open Ndur on the wing where he drained the three-point dagger, a bucket that put the Tribe up 64-57 with 3:39 to go. Drexel brought the ball up and called a timeout, once again hoping to stop the William and Mary momentum.
After a Drexel possession resulting in an offline three-point attempt, the Tribe looked to put away the game on the following offensive possession, putting the ball in the hands of Case.
After a few dribble moves, Case hit an electric side-step three-pointer to all but secure the win for the Tribe. The Green and Gold went up 70-59, and it proved too much for Drexel to overcome with 1:05 left in the game.
Accounting for some late-game free throws from Gabe Dorsey, the Tribe finished with a 72-59 victory against Drexel. This win propelled William and Mary to fourth in CAA rankings, as well as improving the team’s undefeated home record to 12-0 on the season.
“It’s a good win,” Earl said. “I thought our guys did a great job especially in the second half. Drexel keeps testing and testing you, and our guys held up today.”
Case led the team in scoring with 19 points, tying his career-high. With the team’s second-leading scorer senior forward Noah Collier out, making up for some of that production has been a point of focus for Case.
“We’re missing a lot with Noah [out], that’s 12 points right there,” Case said. “I feel like if I can put pressure on the rim, it kind of relieves the team and helps out a lot.”
Gabe Dorsey finished with 17 points, shooting 5-8 from three-point land. Four of his three-pointers came in the first half, keeping the Tribe in the game when the offense was not completely clicking.
“It feels pretty good when the shots are falling,” Gabe Dorsey said. “Especially when teammates are finding each other and we’re clicking like that as a team, it’s super fun.”
Due to inclement winter weather, William and Mary Athletics announced the Tribe’s Thursday night matchup against North Carolina Wilmington (21-6, 11-3 CAA) has been moved to Monday, Feb. 24.
The Tribe will now travel to face Elon (16-11, 7-7 CAA) Saturday, Feb. 22 at the Schar Center in Elon, N.C.
