BALTIMORE, Md.  - Junior guard Marcus Thornton scored a game high 21 points and made two key free throws with 4.9 seconds remaining as No. 3 William & Mary (20-11) upset second-seeded Towson University (23-10) in the semi-finals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament at the Baltimore Arena on Sunday afternoon.

William & Mary, which snapped Towson's seven-game winning streak, will face top-seeded Delaware (24-9) in the CAA championship game at the Baltimore Arena on Monday night. The winner advances to the NCAA Tournament.

In a game that was tied 10 times and had eight lead changes, the Tribe opened the second half with a 12-4 run and took a 48-40 lead with 15:46 remaining in the game.

From that point on, the Tribe protected its lead by making 60 percent of its field goal attempts and 71.4 of its three-point field goal attempts. Towson cut its deficit to one point on several occasions.

With 2:40 left and the Tribe leading by 71-69, Timajh Parker-Rivera was fouled. He made the first free throw and missed the second. Moments later, Thornton hit a jumper to put the Tribe ahead 73-70.

Senior Rafriel Guthrie made one of two free throws with 2:08 left to cut the deficit to 73-71. With 1:42 left, the Tigers had another chance to tie the game after a missed layup by Brandon Britt.

But, senior Jerrelle Benimon, the CAA Player of the Year, was called for travelling with 1:15 left.

With 23 seconds left, the Tigers had another chance to tie the game when Britt missed a three-pointer and Guthrie grabbed the rebound.

However, Thornton made the play of the game when he stole the ball from Benimon, who was driving towards the basket. Thornton was fouled and made both free throws to clinch the victory.

"We knew they had a very potent offensive team," said Towson Coach Pat Skerry. "To their credit, they made a lot of difficult shots. There were times I felt like we were running in quick sand out there. We just couldn't get anything going. When we would make a run, they would connect on a difficult shot.

"I can't fault our effort today," he added. "That kind of effort got us 23 wins this season."

In wild first half, the Tribe jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening minutes. The Tigers came back to take a lead and built their largest lead of the game at 35-29 with 2:28 left in the half. But the Tribe responded with a three-point basket by Julian Boatner and a four-point play by Thornton, who hit a three-point shot, was fouled and hit the free throw. The teams were tied at halftime, 36-36.

The Tribe shot 55 percent from the floor and placed four players in double figures. Britt added 16 points for William & Mary. The Tribe made 11 of 22 three-point attempts, including five of seven in the second half.

The Tigers, who swept the season series from William & Mary, were led by Benimon, who scored 18 points with five rebounds. Senior Mike Burwell added 17 points for the Tigers while Guthrie scored 13 points.

Towson loses four seniors to graduation from the team that set a school record for wins at the NCAA Division I level with 23 victories.

The Tigers could receive a bid to the National Invitational Tournament.

The Tigers posted their 23-10 record just two years after winning only one of 32 games.


-TowsonTigers.com-