Senior guard Marcus Thornton led a balanced William & Mary scoring effort with 19 points, and the Tribe earned an 83-49 victory over Western Illinois in a non-conference game Tuesday night in Williamsburg, Va.
Thornton hit seven of 11 shots from the field. His teammates Terry Tarpey, a junior forward, and Daniel Dixon, a sophomore guard, scored 14 points apiece, while sophomore guard Omar Prewitt finished with 13.
Sophomore guard Garret Covington led the Leathernecks with 13 points and six rebounds. Sophomore forward Mike Miklusak added 10 points for Western Illinois.
William & Marynever trailed after taking a 5-4 lead on a layup with 17:21 left in the first half. The Tribe took control in the last 10:29 of the first half by going on a 24-0 run to grab a 48-15 lead at halftime.
Western Illinois missed 15 consecutive field-goal attempts to end the half and never recovered.
William & Mary (4-1) made 52.7 percent (29 of 55) of its shots from the floor and outrebounded Western Illinois 45-26.
The Leathernecks (1-3)made only 26.8 percent (15 of 56) of its shots from the field. Seven of their 15 field goals were from 3-point range. They finished 8-for-35 (22.9 percent) inside the arc.