Tribe Men's Hoops Pulls Out a Road Win in Georgia

By Tribe Athletics Sunday, February 07, 2010

A second-half rally led the William and Mary men’s basketball team to the program’s eighth road victory of the season, 59-56, against Georgia State at the GSU Sports Arena on Saturday night.

W&M trailed by eight points at the half, but held the Panthers to just 22 points in the second half and scored 10 of the game’s final 11 points to pull out the victory. The College improved to 16-7 overall and 8-5 in CAA play, while GSU, who upset the CAA’s top team in George Mason on Wednesday, fell to 10-15 on the year and 4-9 in league action.

The Tribe’s eight road wins this year rank as the second most in school history, trailing only the nine set by the 1949-50 season, while the 16 overall wins rank as the seventh most in school history. Sophomore forward Quinn McDowell led four Tribe players in double figures with 17 points. He knocked down three 3-pointers and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line. Senior guard David Schneider finished with 15 points, including a game-high nine rebounds. Senior guard Sean McCurdy and junior forward Marcus Kitts each tallied 10 points for the Green and Gold. McCurdy led the Tribe with four assists compared to just one turnover, while Kitts finished with five rebounds.

After the Tribe tied the game for the first time since midway through the first half on a Schneider 3-pointer from the right corner with 5:03 left in the contest, Georgia scored six straight points. A Joe Dukes steal and fastbreak lay-up capped the mini-run and put the Panthers on top, 55-49 with 3:13 remaining.

It was all Tribe from there as W&M scored 10 of the game’s final 11 points to pull out the narrow win. McCurdy ignited the run with his second 3-pointer of the game on the ensuing Tribe possession to close the gap to a single possession. After a Schneider free throw, McDowell was fouled on the drive to the basket and connected on both freebies to tie the game at 55 with 1:31 remaining.

The next trip down the court for Georgia State resulted in a foul off an offensive rebound, sending Dukes to the free throw line with 52 seconds remaining. He made 1-of-2 to put the Panthers back on top, 56-55.

On the ensuing Tribe possession, Kitts came up with a huge play. After receiving the ball at the top of the key, the Holly Springs, N.C., native spun to the middle of the floor and finished at the rim in traffic while getting fouled. He missed the free throw, but still gave the College a lead it would never relinquish at 57-56 with 27.2 seconds remaining.

After a Georgia State timeout with 18.4 seconds left, the Panthers worked the ball around to the right corner, but Trae Goldston’s 3-point attempt was contested by McCurdy and the ball hit off the back iron before McDowell pulled down the rebound. He was fouled and calmly hit both free throws to give W&M a 59-56 advantage with just 9.1 seconds remaining. On the other end, McCurdy and sophomore Kendrix Brown blanketed Goldston and didn’t allow him to get the ball, while Dowell covered Marquis Johnson, whose 3-point attempt from the top of the key was short and off the mark at the horn, preserving the Tribe victory.

The Green and Gold returns home for a pair of games next week, starting with a Wednesday night, Feb. 10, affair against Delaware. The Tribe-Blue Hen game is slated for 7 p.m. at Kaplan Arena. W&M fans can catch all the action over the Tribe Radio Network, 92.3FM The Tide and 107.9 BACHfm, with Jay Colley, Bill McDonald and Charlie Woollum. The broadcast, as well as live stats, can be found at TribeAthletics.com. The W&M live video feed is available for $8 at TribeAthletics.com as well.