William & Mary Stymies Highlanders

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The Tribe outlasted Radford men’s basketball 81-76 in the Championship of the William & Mary Tip-Off Classic Saturday night at William & Mary Hall. (Box Score)

Radford (1-1) lost despite sophomore Chris Oliver’s second career-high scoring night. Oliver posted 23 points, besting his career high of 21 set Friday night against Yale in the opening round of the tournament. He also collected a team-high seven rebounds and was named to the All-Tournament Team for his efforts. Oliver was joined on the All-Tournament Team by senior Olumuyiwa Popoola, who tallied 19 points and had a game-high four steals and four rebounds. Junior Whit Holcomb-Faye score 13 points and dished out five assists.

A back and forth game early, a trey by Popoola at 13:51 broke a seven-all tie and started a 12-2 run that was capped by a short jumper by Popoola. The Highlanders got the lead as high as 11 on a pair of free throws by Oliver before the Tribe began to chip away at the RU advantage. William & Mary (2-0) tied it at the 1:55 mark on a three-pointer by junior Taylor Mokris (Charlotte, N.C.). The teams then swapped three pointers to enter halftime tied at 36.

The teams again traded buckets to open the second half, but Radford used another 10-1 run, this one sparked by a three-pointer from junior Chris Goodin and capped by a pair of free throws from Holcomb-Faye. William & Mary closed to within five when Holcomb-Faye was whistled for a technical foul following an abdomen injury with 8:18 remaining. Junior Hawley Smith (Jacksonville, Fla.) made both free throws to pull the Tribe within three.

RU pushed the lead back to five, but William & Mary closed back in and took its first lead since early in the game on a trey by freshman Nathan Mann (Overland Park, Kan.). The Tribe got in front by as many as six, but after the teams traded baskets, Holcomb-Faye closed to Radford to within three on a pair of free throws with 52 seconds remaining.

William & Mary sealed the win when Mann’s armbar to RU junior Andre Bynum resulted in a foul on Bynum with 12 seconds remaining. Mann hit both free throws to give the Tribe the final margin, 81-76.

The physical game saw 40 fouls, resulting in 36 free throw attempts by the Tribe (26-for-36) and 16 by RU (13-for-16).

W&M sophomore Corey Cofield (Newton, Mass.) led all scorers with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Smith had 15 points, while Mann scored 14 and had five assists. Freshman Laimis Kisielius (Vilnius, Lithuania) had 11 points for the Tribe.

Radford will be on the road for a game at Longwood at 7:00 pm. William & Mary will be at Campbell on Tuesday for a 7:00 pm tip-off.