The teams are trading baskets now, which isn’t helping the Tribe. A layup by Will Thomas gave the Patriots a 54-44 bulge before a 3-pointer by Kisielius cut it to 54-47. That’s where we stand, with George Mason going to the line for a 1 and 1.

William and Mary has cut the deficit to 50-42 on a 3-pointer by David Schneider and a basket by Peter Stein underneath. The crowd of around 7,500 is getting into it now, and cheering hard for every basket by their team.

The Patriots have opened up a 48-35 advantage. Campbell has buried a pair of 3-pointers to put George Mason in command. It looks like the magical run of the Tribe might be nearing an end.

George Mason scored the first nine points of the second half to take a 36-26 lead on Folarin Campbell’s 3-pointer. Schneider made a couple of free throws to make it 36-28, then Thomas scored underneath to put the Patriots back up by 10.

George Mason leads 27-26 at halftime. Kisielius hit a baseline jumper with about one second to go that put the Tribe down only a point at the break. Kisielius has 15 of W&M’s points. Nobody else has more than three. Louis Birdsong and Will Thomas each have six for the Patriots, while Cam Long has five. W&M is hitting 48 percent from the floor, while GMU is making just 37 percent.

The Tribe has come back behind the 3-point shooting of Kasielius and David Schneider. A 2-pointer from Nathan Mann just inside the arc pulled W&M to 25-24 and the crowd is loving it. The Coliseum has a few more people in it now, maybe in the 7,000 range. 

George Mason continues to have the upper hand and leads the Tribe 19-11. Thomas is having his way with the Tribe underneath the glass and has scored six points. W&M is able to only get one shot off per possession because of GMU’s rebounding.

The Patriots continue to lead the Tribe 12-7, but William and Mary seems to be playing a little better. George Mason is controlling the boards, which isn’t a good sign for the Tribe. As has been the case throughout the tournament, nobody can shoot very well from the field. 

Neither team has started off very well, but the Patriots lead 7-3. W&M’s only basket came on a 3-pointer from Laimis Kisielius from the left wing. The Coliseum might be half full at this point. Will Thomas has two of GMU’s baskets, both of them from close range.

It’s 6:50 and the players from both teams have just left the court after pregame warmups. The Coliseum is far from being full, although it’s still early so there’s plenty of time to get your tickets. The Drum and Fife Corps, presumably from Williamsburg, just played the National Anthem, and we’ll have basketball in about 15 minutes. We’ll give you an update at the first deadball timeout.