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UD men’s basketball defeats William & Mary
On Wednesday, it was a buzzer beating three-point basket by sophomore guard Rulon Washington that tied the game and forced overtime. On Saturday, senior guard Mike Ames did the honors with a last second three in a 64-62 home victory over Old Dominion University. With the win, the Fightin’ Blue Hens improved to 10-6 overall and 4-3 in the conference. Virginia Commonwealth University leads the CAA at 5-2. UD will travel to the University of North Carolina Wilmington for a game at 4 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 24. The defending CAA champions are 9-7 overall and 5-3 in the conference, having lost their last two games to Towson University and George Mason University. The Hens will return home to face George Mason at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 28. Tickets cost $9 to $13, $5 for children, and are available at the UD box offices at the Bob Carpenter Center and the Trabant University Center or through Ticketmaster. On Wednesday, UD stormed back from six points down in the final minute of regulation by connecting on three three-pointers in the final 21 seconds, including two by sophomore forward Harding Nana. The Hens then outscored William & Mary 14-3 margin in overtime for the improbable victory. Nana scored nine of his 19 points in the extra session. UD freshman swingman Herb Courtney scored 17 of his career-high 20 points after halftime, hitting on eight of nine shots from the field. He also had 10 rebounds. His 20 points were the most by a UD freshman since Tyrone Perry scored 23 points against Duke University on Dec. 9, 1995. Nana added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and junior point guard Mike Slattery scored 17 points and dished out nine assists. William & Mary appeared to have the game in hand with a 71-63 lead with just 1:15 remaining in regulation but the Hens stormed back. CAA leading scorer Adam Hess had a season-high 29 points, his ninth 20-point effort of the season, and freshman Corey Cofield added 21 points and a team-high 11 rebounds in the loss. Once UD reached overtime, it wasted little time putting William & Mary away. After Hess tied the score at 82-82 with 4:15 left, the Hens took off as Nana, Courtney and Slattery hit consecutive jumpers for an 88-82 lead with one minute remaining. The Hens then secured the victory by hitting all five of their free throws in the final 42 seconds, including four by Nana. William & Mary went into halftime with a slim 32-31 lead. UD tied the game at 37-37 two minutes into the second half but that was its last share of the lead until Washington's last second basket. The William & Mary advantage peaked at 10 points as Hess was a fouled on a dunk and followed with the free throw for a 57-47 lead with 9:29 left in regulation. The Tribe still led by nine at 70-61 on a Nick D'Antoni free throw with 2:16 remaining but then was held without a field goal for the final 2:43. Led by Courtney and Nana, the Hens rallied, hitting on five of their final seven shots of regulation. After William & Mary's Cofield hit a free throw for a 76-70 lead, Nana answered with a three-pointer to cut the lead to 76-73 with 28 seconds left. D'Antoni followed with two free throws six seconds later but again Nana nailed a three-pointer from the top of the circle and the William & Mary lead was down to 78-76 with eight seconds remaining. Zeb Cope hit one of two free throws with six seconds left, giving William & Mary a 79-76 lead, but Washington, who played just two minutes all night while nursing a sore back, came up with the biggest shot of the game as he connected on his only field goal from deep in the right corner, just beating the buzzer and sending the game into overtime. To learn how to subscribe to UDaily, click here. |
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