Nathan Knight, William & Mary (Courtesy: TribeAthletics.com)
BOSTON, Mass. (TribeAthletics.com) – William & Mary senior Nathan Knight scored on a strong drive, banking home the game-winner with 1.1 seconds remaining to lead the Tribe to a 66-64 win at Northeastern on Saturday afternoon. The Tribe (11-5) picked up its nation-leading seventh road win and improved to 3-0 in Colonial Athletic Association play with all three wins coming on the road.
Knight, who scored W&M’s final nine points, tallied his nation-leading 12th double-double with 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and 11 rebounds. Four Tribe players scored in double figures as Andy Van Vliet added 15 points and six rebounds, sophomore Thornton Scott scored 11 points and chipped in five assists off the bench and junior Luke Loewe finished with 10 points.
The Tribe used a 14-2 second-half run to open up its largest lead of the game at 57-43 with 8:13 remaining, but the Huskies would not go away. Northeastern (9-7, 3-1 CAA) used a 13-3 run of its own to sliced into the W&M lead and pulled even with 13 seconds remaining. Shaquille Walters scoring on a driving lay-up and was fouled. His free throw to complete the 3-point play knotted things at 64.
Nathan Knight (Courtesy: Tribe Athletics)
W&M inbounded in the frontcourt with 5.7 seconds remaining, and Knight drove the left side of the paint, splitting two defenders and banked home the game-winner from the left block. Northeastern’s heave at the buzzer from Tyson Walker hit off the back iron from three-quarters court and W&M improved to 3-0 in the CAA for just the fifth time in program history.
Just as notable as his 10-point night offensively, Loewe turned in an incredible defensive performance against Northeastern’s Jordan Rolland, who entered the game leading the CAA and seventh nationally in scoring at 22.2 points per game. The junior guard limited Roland to 3-of-14 from the floor, including 1-of-5 from 3-point range, and just seven points.
Walters led Northeastern with 15 points and nine rebounds, while Bolden Brace added 15 as well.
How It Happened
– The Tribe jumped out to a 7-2 lead just over two minutes into the game on a Nathan Knighttriple and a Bryce Barnesdriving lay-up. In total, the Tribe hit seven of its first 10 shots from the floor.
– Knight extended the Tribe lead to its largest of the opening half. He followed up his own miss, made the bucket and was fouled. His old-fashion 3-point play gave W&M a 19-13 lead with 9:47 remaining.
– Northeastern made five-straight shots as part of a 12-0 run to take its first lead. Bolden Brace and Jordan Roland both hit 3-pointers during the spurt, while Max Boursiquot added four, including a lay-up to give NU a 27-20 with 5:11 left.
– W&M closed the half on a 12-0 run. Andy Van Vlietled the way with seven during the run. He started it with five-straight points and knocked down a jumper with 1:19 left to give the Green and Gold a 33-27 lead at the break.
-Back to back 3-pointers from Boursiquot and Brace pulled the Huskies even at 35 just a minute and a half into the second half.
– Graduate student Tyler Hamiltondrove to the hoop for a bucket and then found Van Vliet for a lay-up to answer the NU run and put W&M on top 39-35 with 17:21 left.
– Sophomore Thornton Scottsparked a 14-2 Tribe run to extend the lead to double-digits. He scored the first five of the run and ended it with a 3-pointer to force a Huskies timeout and give W&M a 57-43 with 8:13 left. The Tribe hit 5-of-7 from the floor during the run, while holding NU to 0-of-7.
– Shaquille Walters led a 13-3 Northeastern run to pull the Huskies back within four. NU hit 5-of-6 from floor during the run. Walters scored nine of the 13 points during the spurt, including a 3-pointer and a lay-up to close the gap to 60-56 with 3:50 remaining.
– Northeastern cut the margin to 62-61 with 1:10 remaining. Boursiquot scored a lay-up in transition and Brace’s wing 3-pointer narrowed the deficit to one.
– Knight, who scored W&M’s final nine points, knocked down a tough, fading jumper shot with 37 seconds remaining to push the lead back to three, 64-61.
– Walters drove the middle of the lane, converted the lay-up and was fouled with 13 seconds remaining. His free throw completed the old-fashion 3-point play and tied the game at 64.
– Out of a timeout, W&M inbounded in the frontcourt with 5.7 seconds remaining. Knight drove the left side of the paint, banking home the game-winner from the left block with 1.1 seconds remaining.
Inside the Numbers
– The Tribe shot 54.7% (29-of-53) from the floor, marking the third-straight game W&M has shot better than 50%. W&M was 7-of-18 (38.9%) from 3-point range.
– Northeastern finished the game at 43.5% (27-of-62), including 6-of-19 (31.6%) from 3-point range.
– W&M held a 34-25 advantage on the glass.
– The Huskies converted 17 Tribe turnovers into 26 points.
Notes
The Tribe improved to 3-0 in CAA play for just the fifth time in school history … W&M leads the country with seven road wins … It marks the 12th time in school history that W&M won at least seven road games in a season … Senior forward Nathan Knightrecorded his second-straight double-double and nation-leading 12th of the year … Knight became the seventh player in W&M history to reach the 1,800-point mark … Knight scored 20 points in a game for the ninth time this season and 35th time overall in his career … W&M snapped a four-game Northeastern winning streak in the series … The Tribe won for the third time in Boston and first since 2016.
Up Next
– The Tribe returns home for the first time in the new year against UNCW on Thursday, Jan. 9. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. from Kaplan Arena.
– The game will be the program’s annual Shoeless Showdown, teaming with C&F Bank and Chick-fil-A to raise awareness for children and adults in the area in need of shoes. Fans who donate a pair of new shoes will receive FREE admission to the game vs. UNCW, a coupon for a FREE Chick-fil-A sandwich, $10 coupon toward a new C & F Bank checking account and 2 FREE tickets to an upcoming Tribe game (on Jan. 25 vs. Towson or Feb. 13 vs. Drexel). Donations will be made to Williamsburg FISH, Inc, and are also accepted at any C&F Bank in the Williamsburg area.
– The game will be broadcast on FloHoops. All Tribe home games and the program’s remaining 15 CAA games will be streamed on FloHoops. A FloHoops subscriptionis $12.50 per month or $95.88 per year ($7.99 per month) and provides access to 130 CAA men’s basketball games, as well as special features.
– Tribe fans can catch the men’s basketball action over the William & Mary Sports Network with Jay Colley and Charlie Woollum on the call. The Tide 92.3 FM and 107.9 Bach FM are the flagship stations of the William & Mary Sports Network and the audio is also available over the Web via the Tune-In app.
Tribe Talk Presented by Chesapeake Bank with Coach Fischer makes its debut in 2020 on Monday night from Precarious Beer Hall. Longtime Tribe play-by-play announcer Jay Colley will host the weekly show which will begin at 7 p.m. and be live over the air for 30 minutes. Fans can hear the live broadcast on the William & Mary Sports Network and its flagship station 92.3 FM The Tide. Tribe Talk will also be available online via the Tune-In App.
