Thursday Feb. 26 and Saturday, Feb. 28, William and Mary men’s basketball (18-11, 9-8 CAA) pulled off a crucial set of victories, first defeating Northeastern (6-22, 2-15 CAA) 84-77 at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va., before holding off North Carolina A&T (11-17, 4-13 CAA) 91-88 at the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro, N.C.
After consecutive last-second defeats to Elon (14-16, 6-11 CAA) and Campbell (13-17, 7-10 CAA), the Tribe needed a positive response to retain any chance of securing a double-bye for the upcoming Coastal Athletic Association tournament in Washington, D.C., next week.
Having defeated Northeastern 94-67 two weeks ago in Boston — a game in which the Tribe shot 55% from the field and hit 12 three-pointers — Thursday night’s rematch played out in a far different manner.
While William and Mary’s defense started the game, forcing Northeastern into numerous turnovers and difficult shots at the end of the shot clock, the Tribe’s offense sputtered out of the gates. Despite its inefficiency from the field in the opening stages of the game, the Tribe found success attacking the Huskies inside and getting to the free-throw line.
At the same time, Northeastern sophomore guard Ryan Williams filled the gap left by the absence of leading scorer and junior guard William Kermoury, scoring 13 points early on.
Struggling offensively, the Tribe turned to a weapon it has relied on extensively this season: the bench. The Tribe got 17 of its 35 first-half points off the bench, led by junior guard Reese Miller, who carried over his strong play from the previous week.
At halftime, the two teams were neck-and-neck. While the Tribe only shot 2-13 from the three, its 14 fast-break points from 13 Huskies turnovers and a 78.6% clip from the free-throw line provided a slight advantage.
In the teams’ first encounter this season, the Tribe used a second-half run to put the game away for good, something that Northeastern was determined to avoid this time. After junior forward Kilian Brockhoff started the second half brightly, scoring the Tribe’s first six points, the Huskies continued to find responses of their own to keep the game within only a few possessions.
Even with the 22 turnovers from the Huskies on the night — nearly double their average of 11.4 per game — Northeastern found success on offense, shooting 50% from the field and hitting 11 three-pointers.
Williams continued his hot shooting from the first period, and after two consecutive three-pointers, the Tribe’s lead was cut to only two points.
After the game, head coach Brian Earl was especially candid about what the home team expected from the Huskies’ guard.
“He’s not necessarily top of the scouting report,” Earl said. “Sometimes, guys get their chance, and he took advantage.”
After that 6-0 spurt from Williams, the Tribe tried to pull away. A Brockhoff three-point play took the Tribe’s lead up to nine.
Aside from Brockhoff’s strong second half, in which he scored 18 of his 21 points, graduate student forward Jo’el Emanuel’s second-half contributions epitomized the Tribe’s performance on the night.
Eight of Emanuel’s 12 second-half points came from the free-throw line, the product of his relentlessness attacking the rim despite the size and length offered by the Huskies down low. Defensively, Emanuel led the Tribe’s press and made it difficult for Northeastern to advance the ball into the frontcourt.
“He changed the feel of the game,” Earl said.
In the final minutes of the matchup, Williams tried to will the Huskies back through another pair of three-pointers, but it was Emanuel who landed the final dagger.
A three-point play with one minute remaining gave the Tribe a nine-point lead, eliminating any chance of a Huskies miracle.
Picking apart the pieces after a seven-point victory — a far cry from the 27-point margin that separated the teams the first time around — Earl saw the game’s pace as a key point.
“I felt like we were on defense for 80% of the game,” Earl said, also complimenting the Huskies’ plan to make the Tribe play good defense for the full 30 seconds.
However, it was not just the pace of play that helped Northeastern put up a far tougher fight, but also the lack of clarity around who would be available for the Huskies.
“It was hard, they were not the team we thought was going to show up because of injury, [and] as coaches, you have to pivot,” Earl said.
William and Mary started Saturday’s game much like Thursday night, scoring its first four points of the game at the free-throw line and forcing five Aggies turnovers within the opening five minutes.
The return of graduate student guard Jhei-R Jones, who made his first appearance since Jan. 24 and contributed eight points off the bench in only 19 minutes, also aided the Tribe.
Similar to Thursday night, the Tribe looked to its bench to provide a much-needed spark, with 24 of its 46 first-half points coming from the second unit led once again by Miller. Earl hailed the effort from his bench, particularly praising its lack of ego and ability to change the game.
N.C. A&T redshirt sophomore forward Zamoku Weluche-Ume caused the Tribe problems throughout the first half, scoring 13 points and knocking down two three-pointers.
Despite taking a nine-point lead into the locker room at halftime, the Tribe once again found itself struggling from behind the arc, shooting only 3-15 in the first half.
Immediately after the second half’s start, the game opened for both teams.
Aggies redshirt freshman forward Lewis Walker, who scored 33 points in the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 15, scored 20 of his 27 points in the second half on an efficient 8-10 shooting from the field. Earl acknowledged the challenge of stopping a player like Walker, who has a uniquely strong mid-range game for the college level.
The Tribe’s lead reached its peak at 13 early in the second half. However, the hosts continued narrowing the gap and took the lead with 10 minutes, 38 seconds remaining in the game.
While the Tribe regained the lead, N.C. A&T stayed within striking distance, setting up a tense final four minutes.
The Tribe and Aggies exchanged baskets in the final minute before junior forward Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi was fouled with the shot clock expiring, bringing the Tribe’s lead back to four.
N.C. A&T had one last chance to force overtime but failed to get a shot off as senior guard Chase Lowe forced a turnover before launching the ball down the court.
Although the Tribe forced 18 N.C. A&T turnovers, which turned into 20 fast-break points, the Aggies shot over 76% from inside the three-point line — a similar story to Thursday night.
Moving on to the regular season finale on Tuesday, March 2, against Hampton (13-17, 7-10 CAA) at Kaplan Arena, the Tribe remains alive in the running for a double-bye at the CAA tournament.
