Over the past week, William and Mary men’s basketball (7-2, 0-0 CAA) claimed two commanding victories over Texas El Paso (3-4, 0-0 Mountain West) and Abilene Christian (5-3, 0-0 WAC) Monday, Nov. 24, and Tuesday, Nov. 25, respectively. The Tribe defeated the Miners 74-63 and Wildcats 92-58. The Tribe played both games at the Adams-Jenkins Complex of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville, Fla., as a part of the Jacksonville Classic.
“That tournament was a good place for us to get away as a team and play on sort of a neutral court, which is hard to do in college basketball these days,” Tribe head coach Brian Earl said when asked about the team’s performances in Jacksonville.
In the Tribe’s game against the Miners, junior guard Reese Miller tied as the leading scorer with 16 points, shooting 5-7 from the field and 2-4 from three. Miller also produced three assists on the day. Senior guard Kyle Pulliam added his own 16 points, going 6-11 from the field and collecting five rebounds. Their combined 32 points made up a considerable portion of the Tribe’s total scoring, with the next highest scorer being senior guard Chase Lowe with nine points, the longest tenured member of the team.
The Tribe started red-hot, going on a 13-0 run to start the game, with Miller scoring seven straight points over the initial six minutes. Senior guard Cassius Brooks finally broke the Tribe’s unanswered scoring, going on to score seven of UTEP’s first nine points.
The Tribe maintained their lead all the way through halftime, with sophomore guard/forward Ryan Jackson Jr. capitalizing on a Tribe run that pushed the lead to 24-12 with a powerful dunk. The Tribe led 35-23 going into halftime, shooting 46.7% from the field and 33.3% from three, while holding the Miners to 32% from the field and 16.7% from three.
The second half was much closer, as the Miners outscored the Tribe 40-39. They would come within one point of the Tribe following a 12-2 run. The near-comeback swing consisted of a corner three from junior forward David Tubek, five points from junior guard Caleb Blackwell, and finally a layup from junior forward Kaseem Watson. However, the lead was soon again lengthened by a timely 13-4 run by the Tribe, with Lowe contributing four points and an assist.
Blackwell led the Miners with 13 points, followed closely by Watson and Brooks, who each contributed 11. Junior forward Elijah Jones, with 10 points and five rebounds, and senior forward Jamal West Jr., with nine points and five rebounds, were also major contributors.
UTEP’s early deficit proved too much to overcome before time elapsed, with the Tribe cementing their victory with a comfortable 12-point lead by the final minute of the game. The Tribe shot 49.1% from the field and 37.5% from three-point range in the game, improving their averages from the first to the second half. By comparison, the Miners shot 36.9% from the field and 20% from three.
Coming off the double-digit win on Monday night, the Tribe carried that momentum and produced a dominant performance against the Wildcats of Abilene Christian the next night.
William and Mary played the game without Miller, who exited in the previous game with an injury. The transfer was coming off a 16-point performance as the Tribe’s leading scorer.
Matters got worse when Pulliam left the game due to injury after only two minutes in. “We played some pretty physical teams, and so we paid a bit of a price for it with a couple of guys going down,” Earl said after the games.
The physicality in the game would not stop the Tribe for long, as Jackson Jr. and junior forward Kilian Brockhoff exploded for back-to-back fast breaks, forcing an ACU timeout. This was followed by a quick break jumper by graduate student guard Jhei-R Jones. The Green and Gold were getting down the court quickly, and the Wildcats were paying the price.
Brockhoff and junior forward Tunde Vahlberg Fassi would keep up the momentum, as Brockhoff hit a three, followed by another fastbreak score for the Tribe, this time courtesy of Vahlberg Fassi. Graduate student forward Cade Haskins would jump in on the action, going on a five-point run himself.
The Wildcats stayed in the game by slowly chipping away at the Tribe’s lead, aided by some timely three-pointers by junior guard Yaniel Rivera. The Tribe led by seven at the half.
The second half was a masterclass put on by Tribe basketball. It would start with a 10-1 run led by Jones, who provided a constant stream of fast breaks for the Tribe. The Wildcats were unable to handle the fast-paced basketball Brian Earl is known for. William and Mary’s defense also forced five turnovers in the second half and turned 21 turnovers into 21 points throughout the game.
The Tribe would go on to crush the Wildcats’ comeback hopes in the second half, outscoring the team by 27, while shooting a remarkable 76.9% from the field and 50% from three. Simultaneously, they held their opponents to a mere 32.26% shooting in the second period.
Haskins would be the Tribe’s leading scorer on the day, finishing with 20 points, while playing 26 minutes. His efforts were closely followed by his teammates, as the Tribe boasted an impressive six double-digit scorers and 32 points off the bench.
The Tribe’s shooting percentage on the day was the best it has had all season. More impressive is the fact that it happened at a neutral site, far from Kaplan Arena. Coach Earl said the team is “a good road team” that “likes being on the road,” a different tune from William and Mary’s team last year, which posted a 4-11 road record.
“It was good to get those two tough wins against physical teams out there and then be able to get back home,” said Earl.
Coming off these two wins, the Tribe defeated Old Dominion (3-6, 0-0 Sun Belt) Nov. 30 at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va.
