William & Mary Closes Second Round Action With 72-62 Victory Over Elon
Dylan Smith
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PRESS CONFERENCE – WILLIAM & MARY | PRESS CONFERENCE – ELON
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi matched a career-high with 25 points to guide sixth-seeded William & Mary to a 72-62 win over 11
th-seeded Elon in the second round of the Air Force Reserve CAA Men’s Basketball Championship on Saturday night at CareFirst Arena.
William & Mary moves on to battle No. 3 Hofstra (21-10) at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday in the quarterfinals. Elon ended its season with a 13-19 record.
The Swedish sharpshooter went 8-for-11 from the floor and knocked down five of the team’s 10 treys. Reese Miller also reached double figures with 13 points of his own. Dean Ehlers Leadership Award recipient Chase Lowe put forth an all-around effort with eight points, 10 boards, four assists and four steals.
Elon’s Ned Hull paced the team with a 15-point showing and sank four treys in 30 minutes off the bench. Chandler Cuthrell scored seven of his 13 points from the line, while Randall Pettus II chipped in 10 points.
Vahlberg Fasasi set the tone early and scored the first nine Tribe points before a Jo’el Emanuel slam rattled the rim for an 11-5 edge with 15:18 to play. William & Mary rattled off nine unanswered points, part of a larger 12-2 run capped off by a Finn Lally finish in close to take a 23-10 advantage at the 7:18 mark.
The Phoenix surged out to a 13-5 run with help from Hull and Kacper Klaczek connecting from distance make it a two-point game. W&M’s Reese Miller sank a pair at the charity stripe to double the halftime lead, 35-31.
Vahlberg Fasasi pushed the tempo to start the second half as well, draining a trio of trifectas over the first 9:02 of the stanza to give the Tribe a 50-44 edge. The junior forward continued to ramp up the pressure from the free-throw line before a Ryan Jackson Jr. 3-pointer capped a 14-5 run and expanded the lead to double figures, 61-49, at the under-eight media timeout.
William & Mary maintained its double-digit advantage down the stretch to punch its ticket into the quarterfinals.
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