WILLIAMSBURG — After two consecutive losses on shots inside the final 2.5 seconds, William & Mary coach Brian Earl and forward Kilian Brockhoff were gladly willing to accept a homely home victory.
That’s exactly what the Tribe got in their 84-77 victory over Coastal Athletic Association cellar-dweller Northeastern in front of 4,319 on Thursday at Kaplan Arena.
“Sometimes ugly wins are the best you can hope for and this was one of them,” Earl said.
Brockhoff, a 6-foot-9 junior from Germany who led the Tribe with 21 points, said, “I think it’s always good to get some wins and get on a little run before the (conference) tournament to have a good feeling going into the tournament.
“Protecting home court (where the Tribe is 10-2) is always important. And getting, not a pretty win but getting a win, is really important for sure.”
Most of the ugliness for the Tribe (17-11, 8-8 CAA) came early, when they made just 5 of 18 field-goal attempts to start the game. But their defense was good throughout, as they forced 22 turnovers — 14 of them on steals.
“I think defense saved us,” Earl said. “We’re a good offensive team, and when we’re sharing the ball I wouldn’t want to guard us.
“Tonight the huddles are `When are we going to make a shot?’ That implies we were playing some pretty good defense.”
William & Mary Tribe forward Finn Lally (43) drives to the basket against Northeastern Huskies forward Ty Francis (9) during the first half at Kaplan Arena in Williamsburg, Va., on Feb. 26, 2026. (Peter Casey / The Virginian-Pilot)
Good enough that the Tribe led 35-32 at intermission despite trailing most of a closely contested first half. Only Ryan Williams, a guy Earl didn’t count on much in the scouting report, kept Northeastern (6-21, 2-14) close by scoring 13 points.
Williams never cooled down, finishing with 29 points by making 11 of 17 shots — 7 of 10 from the 3-point arc. But the Tribe, despite hideous 2-of-18 shooting from the arc, were significantly better offensively in the second half, making 12 of 24 field-goal attempts.
W&M continued to produce key turnovers in the second half, when it got key individual performances and maintained a small cushion — peaking at 11 points — throughout. Brockhoff had the biggest offensive hand in the second half, scoring 18 of his 21 points.
Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi filled the stat sheet nicely, with 12 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. Jo’el Emanuel was the biggest force off of a Tribe bench that has scored the most points in the CAA. He scored 12 of his 16 points after intermission to help the Tribe break the two-game losing streak.
The Tribe lost its previous game 84-83 at Campbell on a layup at the buzzer, after falling 81-78 to Elon at home on a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining.
“He changes the feel of the game, picking up and turning people in the full court,” Earl said of Emanuel, a 6-6 graduate student transfer from Farleigh Dickenson. “Then he gets up and can finish, and that gives people some energy.
“That he’s the type of guy who willingly comes of the bench, when he brings that to a game, speaks volumes for him.”
