WILLIAMSBURG, VA (WTKR)- William and Mary and Hampton have met before on the basketball court, but Wednesday night was a little bit different, as the Tribe and Pirates tipped off for the first time as CAA rivals.
The green and gold shot 59 percent from the floor and pulled away from Hampton for the 81-65 win at Kaplan Arena, improving their conference record to 2-2. The Pirates fell to 0-4 on CAA play.
Hampton stuck around for most of the first half before the Tribe opened up its first double digit lead late in the first half, when Gabe Dorsey's three-pointer gave William and Mary a 10 point cushion with 4:24 to play in the frame. The home squad would hold a 40-31 advantage at the break.
Chris Mullins' triple early in the second half pushed the Tribe lead to 12 points and it would keep the gap to at least eight points for the remainder of the game. William and Mary held the Pirates without a field goal for the final 3:30 of the contest.
Dane Fischer's group had a handful of key contributors on Wednesday night. Noah Collier posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds, while Anders Nelson chipped in 15 points of his own. Dorsey and Ben Wight each added 13 points to help push William and Mary to the win. The Tribe won the battle of the boards, 38-21.
Deuce Dean paced four Pirates in double figures with 21 points. Jordan Nesbitt had 13 points, Raymond Bethea added 12 points with Marquis Godwin contributing 10 points.
William and Mary returns to action on Saturday at UNC-Wilmington for a 5:00 PM tipoff, while Hampton hosts North Carolina A&T on Monday at 7:00 PM.
