Elon MBB Falls to William & Mary in CAA Quarterfinals

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team dropped a hard-fought 71-66 decision to William & Mary on Saturday, March 4, in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Championship at the North Charleston Coliseum.

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Elon drops to 18-14 with the setback, while William & Mary improves to 17-13 and advances to the semifinals to face top-seeded UNCW.

The Phoenix could not get the offense going over the final six minutes of the second period, hitting just one field goal in the game’s final moments to give the Tribe a puncher’s chance down the stretch.

That chance came with 33 seconds remaining and the Phoenix down one, as William & Mary’s Omar Prewitt nailed a deep three from the wing to give his team a four-point lead, 67-63, to take the wind out of the sails for the Phoenix faithful. The Tribe sealed the win from there with free throws to secure the win.

“Our guys played their hearts out and really battled for 40 minutes,” said head coach Matt Matheny. “I was proud of the way we got off the mat after a sluggish start. I was proud of the way we defended, particularly in the first half. Untimely offensive misses and not enough stops caused us to come up short.”

Elon had three players score in double figures, led by 19 points from Brian Dawkins. Dawkins also finished with nine boards, but the Tribe won the battle on the glass, 42-38. Tyler Seibring ended the game with 14 points, while Dainan Swoope finished with 10 for the maroon and gold.

Elon and William & Mary combined to shoot 66 threes in the game, as Elon nailed 11-of-34 from deep, while the Tribe finished 10-of-32. The Tribe shot 54 percent in the final 20 minutes, a stark contrast from the team’s 31-percent clip in the first half.

Trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, the Phoenix stormed back late, as Dawkins worked for position in the post for a hook shot that gave Elon a 28-27 advantage with 3:10 to play. Dawkins netted 14 first-half points for the Phoenix.

Elon ended the half on a 21-7 run to take a 33-30 lead into the locker room at intermission, overcoming a 12-point deficit. Elon held William & Mary to a 5-of-20 mark from three in the first half.

Elon continued its hot streak from deep to open the second half, as a Dawkins triple from the top of the key with 15:47 to play pushed the Phoenix lead to five, 44-39, its largest lead of the game at the time.

Later in the half with 8:06 remaining, Swoope gave Elon a four-point edge when he drove through Tribe defense and threw up a circus shot over two defenders for the bucket, making it a 56-52 game.

William & Mary reclaimed the lead with 1:50 to play after Malinowski drilled a corner three in front of the Tribe bench to give his squad a 62-60 advantage. But Seibring tied it on the ensuing possession after hitting a pair of free throws to knot it at 62-all.

After Dixon answered on the other end with a layup to give the Tribe a two-point lead, Thompson split a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to one.

William & Mary hit the proverbial dagger with 33 seconds to play when Omar Prewitt connected on his third triple of the game to put the Phoenix behind by four points, 67-63. The Tribe kept the Phoenix at arm’s length from there to survive and advance.