Freshman Connor Kochera Leads William & Mary to 69-64 Win Over Drexel
This season, CAA teams are getting used to turning the page very quickly. Since their conference schedule is made up largely of back-to-backs to prevent travel, players and coaches have to move on immediately when getting ready for the second half of a series. William & Mary proved their mettle on Sunday, bouncing back from a blowout loss vs. Drexel on Saturday to handle business on Sunday. The Tribe scored a 69-64 upset win over the Dragons, led by standout freshman Connor Kochera and his career-high 26 points.
Drexel (#154) was ranked 142 spots ahead of the Tribe (#296) via KenPom going into the game.
Kochera, who only had 10 free-throw attempts entering the game, cashed in at the end of the game from the charity stripe as the Dragons tried to keep things close. He hit 12-of-14 free-throws in the final 3:17 to ice the game for his team. Altogether, he went 5-of-7 from the field — including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc — while finishing 14-of-16 from the stripe.
Senior Luke Loewe (16) was the only other William & Mary player to finish in double-figures.
The Tribe moved up eight spots in the KenPom rankings with the win, winding up at #288. Up next will be a home back-to-back against Charleston this coming weekend.