Top-seeded William & Mary advanced to Sunday's semifinals.
Tribe Downs Phoenix In Quarterfinals
Tim McDonnell
Boxscore |
#CAAChamps Central Page
BALTIMORE (March 7, 2015) – Senior Marcus Thornton led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points and top-seeded William & Mary outlasted eighth-seeded Elon, 72-59, in the quarterfinals of the 2015 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday at Royal Farms Arena.
The Tribe (19-11) shot 52.3 percent from the floor while sophomore Omar Prewitt netted 16 points and Daniel Dixon supplied 12 points, all of which came from a 4-of-9 effort from behind the arc. Junior Terry Tarpey chipped in an efficient, eight points, nine boards and five assists in the win.
William & Mary, which won its third regular season conference championship and its first in 17 years this season, now advances to Sunday’s semifinals to face either fourth-seeded James Madison or fifth-seeded Hofstra at 2:30 on NBC Sports Network.
The Phoenix, who had won four straight games overall, was led by freshman Elijah Bryant with 15 points and senior Austin Hamilton, who had 13 points, four rebounds and four assists.
This was Elon’s first-ever CAA Basketball Championship as a member of the conference. The Phoenix defeated Towson in overtime of the opening round on Friday night and set a CAA Championship record with 13 made three-pointers. On Saturday, the team made just 7-of-23 attempts from three-point range.
Elon trailed by 10 at the break, but soon crept within five early in the second half as junior Tanner Samson hit consecutive treys to bring the Phoenix within 40-35. The next possession down the floor, Samson committed his fourth foul and Elon struggled.
The Tribe, meanwhile, locked down defensively and limited the Phoenix over the next 4:17. Prewitt led the charge on the other side of the ball during that span, accounting for five points during a 10-0 run (50-35) which lasted until the 13:02 mark.
That run proved to be just enough for William & Mary, as the Tribe continued to hold a double-digit lead the remainder of the game. Elon got within 11 with 4:42 left to play, but that’s the closest the Phoenix got.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair, with the Tribe holding onto a close lead for much of the action. Three times the advantage stretched to 10 points for the top-seed, thanks in part to some sharp three-point shooting.
Thornton nailed the team’s sixth and final triple of the half as time expired, giving William & Mary a 10-point cushion into halftime.
Today’s meeting was the eighth all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary. The Tribe now leads the series, 7-1, after splitting two regular season meetings this season. The Tribe is also the No. 1 seed in the CAA Championship for the first time in school history.