|
W&M Men’s Basketball Falls To Hampton, 79-72
Adam Hess Scores 27 Points To Lead Tribe
12/19/03 11:27PM
WILLIAMSBURG, VA - Hampton forward Devin Green led all scorers with a career-high 33 points and also had a game-high 10 rebounds as the Pirates defeated the William and Mary men’s basketball team 79-72 tonight at William and Mary Hall. The Pirates improve to 3-7 on the season, while the Tribe falls to 3-4.
The first half was a series of runs for both teams as each shot well from the field. The Tribe finished the first half shooting 53.1% (17-32), running out to a 12-6 lead at the 17:06 mark on a three-pointer by sophomore guard Taylor Mokris (Charlotte, NC), but the Pirates would use a run of their own to cut into the Tribe’s lead, getting as close as 16-15 with 14:25 left in the half, using consecutive three pointers from Rodney Hughes, Green and Jeff Granger. The College responded with 12 unanswered points in less than three minutes, ending with a three by senior forward Zeb Cope (Hopkins, SC) to give the Tribe its biggest lead of the game, a 13-point, 28-15 advantage.
Hampton, however, survived the Tribe’s run and answered with one of its own, a 16-3 romp to tie the contest at 31. After a layup by senior forward Adam Hess (Grosse Pointe, MI) and the ensuing free throw after he was fouled gave the College a three-point lead, Donald Didlake tied it back up with a three pointer, and a free throw by Jared Woodley gave the Pirates their first lead of the game at 35-34 with 4:42 left in the half. It was short-lived, however, as back-to-back layups from freshman forward Corey Cofield (Wellesley, MA) gave W&M a three-point lead at 38-35. Another Hampton three point field goal, this one from Granger, tied the game again, but Cofield again gave the Tribe the advantage, converting a layup while being fouled, and then hitting the free throw to give W&M a 41-38 advantage with 2:15 left. After a missed Pirate basket, Hess scored on a layup with 1:56 left, and two Hampton free throws by Green ended the first half with the Tribe leading, 43-41.
The second half was a seesaw affair, that featured eight ties and seven lead changes, as neither team led by more than four points for most of the period. Two free throws from Granger gave the Pirates a 69-68 lead with 4:50 left and HU would never trail again, as Green made one of two free throws and followed that up with a dunk to put the Pirates ahead, 72-68 with 3:14 remaining. A Hess free throw put the Tribe within three, 72-69, with 2:05 to play, but W&M would get no closer, falling to the Pirates, 79-72.
William and Mary’s Hess led the Tribe with 27 points, while Mokris had 16 and Cofield added 13. Granger had 14 points to aid Hampton’s cause. The difference in the contest came at the free throw line, with Hampton converting 22 of 30 (73.3%) of its foul shots, while the Tribe connected on just 12 of 26 (46.2%). The Pirates out-rebounded W&M, 43-41, and had 16 turnovers to the Tribe’s 17.
The Tribe returns action Tuesday evening, December 30, when W&M travels to take on Virginia Tech at 7:00 PM.
Box Score | Photo Gallery
Quotes from W&M head coach Tony Shaver
“What Hampton did extremely well tonight is shoot the basketball. They shot the ball well tonight, and part of that’s because they got open looks. We went to a triangle-and-two just to try something different down the stretch and we didn’t rebound out of that. It was a disappointing night, for sure.”
“When you miss 14 free throws at home, that’s an issue in a ball game. We missed two dunks and 14 free throws and those things add up when you lose by seven points. Turnovers hurt us, and the timing of the turnovers was tough on us. Little things in this game matter so much and I’m not sure that we fully understand that right now. When we come down and miss a dunk, it would have given us some momentum, and then they go down and make a three-point play at the other end, that’s a huge turnaround.”
|