NCAA News Wire
William & Mary 75, Towson 71
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
Junior guard Marcus Thornton scored 21 points to help third-seeded William & Mary knock off second-seeded Towson 75-71 in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Sunday at Baltimore Arena in Baltimore.
The Tribe (20-11) avenged two regular-season losses to the Tigers, earning a place in Monday’s championship game against top-seeded Delaware. The Blue Hens (24-9) beat Northeastern 87-74 in the other semifinal.
William & Mary senior guard Brandon Britt scored 16 points. Senior forward Kyle Gaillard added 12 for the Tribe, and senior forward Tim Rusthoven scored 10.
Senior forward Jerrelle Benimon scored 18 points for Towson, which had won seven in a row and 11 of 12. Tigers senior guard Mike Burwell added 17 points, and senior guard Rafriel Guthrie had 13.
The teams traded leads several times throughout the first half. Burwell made a 3-pointer to give Towson a 17-13 edge with 11:04 to play in the opening period, but Thornton answered from long distance moments later to put William & Mary up 20-17 with 9:14 to go. The Tigers (23-10) mounted a 6-0 run to take a 35-29 lead with 2:28 to play, but the Tribe closed the half on a 7-1 run to tie the score at 36.
William & Mary went up by eight on a layup by Britt with 15:46 to play in the second half, but Towson outscored the Tribe 14-8 to cut the deficit to two when sophomore guard Four McGlynn made a 3-pointer with 10:06 remaining.
The Tigers got within one on a couple of occasions over the final 7:14, but the Tribe responded with big baskets each time. Thornton made two free throws with four seconds left to secure the victory.
