Colonial First Round Recap

No. 9 Towson 70, No. 8 William & Mary 65
Senior guard Jamaal Gilchrist sealed a career-high night with a ‘dunk’, leading the Towson Tigers (8-20) to a win over the William & Mary Tribe (7-21). Gilchrist scored 32 points, topping his previous career high of 25. The entire game came down to the last minute, as W& M’s senior forward Zeb Cope made two free throws to bring the Tribe within one point (63-64). The Tigers responded by converting 4 of 4 free throws in the last 35 seconds, sealing the victory. After Gilchrist “dunked” the Tigers into their first ever CAA tournament win (he actually missed the dunk, but tipped it back in), W& M inbounded the ball giving freshman forward Corey Cofield the fast-break dunk at the buzzer, which sounded the end of the Tribe’s season.

Pacing the Tribe on a 54% shooting night from the floor for 23 points (and 10 rebounds) was senior forward Adam Hess. Hess, however, was held scoreless from the field in the last 14 minutes. Contributing for the Tribe on offense were Cofield, who scored 19 points (including nine free throws) and Cope, who scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. In addition to Gilchrist’s explosion of 32 points, freshman guard Mike Green scored 13 points, which includes four pivotal free throws made down the stretch.

The Tigers played arguably their best game of the season. They played solidly on defense, forcing 18 Tribe turnovers to their nine and also stole eight extra possessions. The Tigers face No. 1-seed Virginia Commonwealth at 12:00 P.M. on Saturday.

No. 7 UNC Wilmington 44, No. 10 James Madison Dukes 41
Senior forward Anthony Terrell scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead his UNC Wilmington Seahawks (14-14) to a win over the James Madison Dukes (7-21) in a defensive showdown.

The Dukes matched the defensive intensity of the Seahawks for the entire game, but failed to convert free throw attempts down the stretch. JMU held UNCW to a season-low 28.6% shooting from the field, while UNCW held JMU to 31.7% shooting. Both teams shot horridly from beyond the arc with both teams shooting under 25% from 3-point range. The difference in this game was free throw conversion. In the last ten minutes, the Seahawks made 10 of 13 free throws, while the Dukes only sank 5 of 6 chances (3 misses were one plus the bonus situations).

Senior forward Dwayne Broyles led the Dukes with 19 points (6 of 8 free throws made) and 11 rebounds.

“We just missed a few free throws down the stretch and that may have cost us the game,” said JMU Head Coach Sherman Dillard. The Dukes finish the season 7-21, 3-15 CAA. The Seahawks will face the No. 2-seed Drexel in tomorrow’s 6:00 P.M. CAA quarterfinal.