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Miami sophomore guards Quinten Rollins (above) and Josh Sewell (bottom) led the RedHawks with 18 points apiece in a win over the College of William and Mary. Middle, Adam Thomas throws down a dunk. Photos by Mike Smith.

“William and Mary could have won this game, and I thought they played very, very well,” said Miami coach Charlie Coles, who picked up his 350th victory the hard way. “I knew it was going to be like pulling teeth.”

The RedHawks enjoyed a 37-30 halftime lead, but the Tribe scored seven unanswered points to open the final stanza.

Drew Magee’s jumper and Sewell’s trey at 16:17 offset five points by the visitors. However, CWM pulled ahead on a jumper by Marcus Thornton for a 44-42 advantage at 14:52.

William and Mary went up by six (53-47) on a layup by Brandon Britt at 9:57 and continued to lead the way until a Quinten Rollins trey at 6:37 lifted the RedHawks to a 57-55 lead.

Layups, in fact, were in vogue for the Tribe during a second half in which they registered a 64 percent success rate on shots from the field. After trailing MU,12-6, on points in the paint through the first 20 minutes, William and Mary outscored the hosts 22-10 in the paint after the break.

It was the second time in three games that a team has connected on over 50 percent of its shots from the field during a half. Evansville hit 59.1 percent from the field in the first half and followed that with 54.2 percent after halftime.

Asked if he was concerned about the RedHawks ‘D,’” Coles said, “Yes, I am – more than concerned.”

Miami led by five, 65-60, following a layup by Julian Mavunga at 3:55. However, the Tribe inched back and eventually took a 69-68 lead after a Quinn McDowell free throw with 0:49 remaining.

Freshman Brian Sullivan missed a trey attempt at the other end, but Sewell came up with the rebound and shortly thereafter connected on his 3-point shot with 18 seconds remaining. “It was an air-ball, and I just happened to be back side,” Sewell said of his key rebound.

William and Mary called a time out to plan a shot. Coles, meanwhile, advised his squad not to let the Tribe get off a clean three-point attempt. The visitors had made 3-of-6 from behind the arc in the second half and another made-trey could easily give CWM the win.

William and Mary did settle for a two-point try, but Kendrix Brown’s 15-foot jumper bounced high off the rim. Rollins ended up with the rebound and was fouled with less than a second remaining. He converted both free throws for the final 72-69 margin.

“We had to get this win,” Rollins said. “We’ve been struggling, and I think … we were determined to get this win no matter what we had to do to get it.”

“We got the win despite making big time mistakes on offense and defense,” said Coles who, despite the miscues, was pleased with the “heart” his squad showed. He was also pleased with single digit turnovers (7) by his team and 21-of-26 free throws.

Mavunga, hounded all night by a collapsing defense, made just 3-of-10 from the floor but cashed in on 9-of-10 from the stripe to fashion a 16-point night. He had just six points and one field goal (off two shots) in nine minutes during the first half. Sewell and Rollins led the RedHawks’ scoring with 18 apiece.

“We’re not the most experienced team in the world,” said Sewell, one of four sophomores in the starting lineup. “However, we have each other. We’ve played enough games to know who can do what and have cohesion.”

Quinn McDowell, who came into the contest with a team-high 10.8 average, netted 20 against Miami. Marcus Thornton (15), Tim Rusthoven (14) and Britt (10) were also in double figures.

After jumping from 37.5 percent from the field in the first stanza to 64 percent after the break, CWM finished at 51 percent 25-of-49). Miami connected on 40 percent of its tries in each half, finishing with 22-of-55 from the floor.

The RedHawks will wrap up non-conference play Monday when they travel to Nashville to face a Vanderbilt team that had been in the Top 25 at times this season. The first Miami conference date is Jan. 7 at home against Akron (7 p.m.).