NCAA News Wire
Delaware 75, William & Mary 74
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
Senior forward Carl Baptiste scored the winning basket with 12.8 seconds remaining, lifting Delaware to a 75-74 victory over William & Mary in the championship game of the Colonial Athletic Association tournament Monday at Baltimore Arena in Baltimore, Md.
Baptiste had 24 points and eight rebounds for Delaware (25-9), which secured its first NCAA Tournament bid since 1999. Junior guard Jarvis Threatt scored 18 points. Senior guard Devon Saddler added 16.
Junior guard Marcus Thornton scored 22 points for William & Mary (20-12), which was vying for its first NCAA Tournament berth. Senior forward Tim Rusthoven scored 16 points and freshman guard Omar Prewitt had 14.
Thornton scored nine points over the first 5:48 to help William & Mary take an 18-10 lead. The Blue Hens later tied the game on a basket by Baptiste as part of a 9-0 run that gave them a 29-24 advantage. The Tribe briefly regained the lead, but the Blue Hens closed the half with a 6-0 run to take a 39-33 lead into the locker room at the break.
Delaware extended its lead to 12 when junior guard Kyle Anderson made a 3-pointer to put the Blue Hens up 47-35 with 16:42 to play in the second period. William & Mary then outscored Delaware 18-4 over the next nine minutes, cutting the deficit to two on a layup by senior guard Brandon Britt with 9:22 to go.
The Tribe took a 66-65 lead on a jumper by Prewitt, who added a 3-pointer with 1:21 to play give his team a 74-68 lead. The Blue Hens cut the Tribe’s lead to one with 51 seconds left and regained the lead on a layup by Baptiste with 12.8 seconds to go. Thornton then missed a jumper as time expired.
