CHARLESTON, S.C. – William & Mary went 3-for-4 from the free throw line in the final seconds to hang on to a 63-61 road victory at College of Charleston on Thursday night at TD Arena.

The Tribe (12-4, 4-1 CAA) led for 38 minutes in the ballgame as the Cougars (10-6, 2-3 CAA) rallied and outscored W&M, 43-30, in the second half to take over the lead, 59-58, on a made three-pointer by sophomore Evan Bailey (Canton, Ohio) with 2:07 remaining in regulation.

On the next possession, a steal by freshman Jarrell Brantley (Columbia, S.C.) resulted in a foul and two made free throws to give CofC a three-point advantage, 61-58, with 1:34 left.

Omar Prewitt would later get the Tribe within one on a layup, 61-60, as both teams scrambled to make each of their baskets count in the final seconds and no timeouts remaining on either side.

William & Mary's Sean Sheldon sank two free throws to give his team a 62-61 advantage as Brantley fouled out of the ballgame. The Cougars used up the shot clock on their next possession as sophomore Cameron Johnson (Athens, Ga.) drove into the lane, and made what would have been the game-winning floater, but was instead called with the offensive foul.

CofC was forced to foul and Daniel Dixon went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe as the Tribe escaped Charleston with the win to remain on top of the CAA standings.

Johnson ended the night with a game-high 19 points, while Bailey turned in a career-high 16 points. William & Mary had four players score in double figures behind a 15-point effort from David Cohn.

Up next, the Cougars will use a one-day prep to ready themselves for former Southern Conference rival Elon (11-7, 2-3 CAA) on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m. (ET) at TD Arena. The game will be televised live locally on MyTV Charleston and tickets are still available for purchase by calling (843) 953-COFC or going online at www.CofCSports.com/tickets.

For more information on College of Charleston Basketball, follow the Cougars on Twitter at @CofCBasketball.

POSTGAME NOTES

· For the third-consecutive game, the Cougars had only eight scholarship players on the active roster and used the starting lineup of freshman Marquise Pointer, sophomore Cameron Johnson, junior Payton Hulsey, freshman Jarrell Brantley and freshman Nick Harris (1-2).

· William & Mary extended its lead to 5-2 in the all-time series with College of Charleston. It marked the Tribe's first regular-season series sweep of the Cougars, since CofC joined the Colonial in 2013-14.

· Cameron Johnson recorded a game-high 19 points against William & Mary along with six rebounds and four assists. It marked his 11th double-figure game of the season and second time to lead the team in scoring.

· Sophomore Evan Bailey knocked down a career-high 16 points with a career-best four three-pointers versus the Tribe. It marked his sixth double-figure scoring game of his career and third this season.

· The Cougars were held to a season-low 18 first-half points, but outscored the Tribe, 43-30, similar to both teams' first meeting, 45-34, on Jan. 2 in Williamsburg, Va.

· CofC won the battle of the boards, 42-39, behind a game-high eight rebounds from Payton Hulsey. It marked his fifth time this season to lead the Cougars in the rebounding column.

POSTGAME QUOTES

College of Charleston Head Coach Earl Grant

On the team's second-half surge …

“In the second half, our guys played hard, gave a lot of effort and competed. I was proud of the character that they showed. In the locker room, we talked about, 'we have to expect to win games.' We never should have gotten down 18 points (in the first half). But, we didn't deserve to win. We played hard and we played with a lot of character. But based on the first half, we just didn't quite do enough to win.”

On the team's depleted roster due to injuries …

“As our roster changes, I have to make sure I continue to change and make sure we always figure out, 'what's the best way to make this team successful.'”

On one takeaway from the loss …

“Win or lose in that situation, the big picture is, it doesn't really matter. It's more important, whether we win or lose, I'm proud that I did see fight, I did see spirit and I did see character from our guys. If we continue to do that, we are going to be a really good team. This program will be really solid and have a good foundation.”

College of Charleston Sophomore Forward Evan Bailey

On the difference between the first and second halves and the loss …

“We were just more aggressive (in the second half). It's tough since we played really well. If we don't get down in that first half, we come out with the win. It just shows how tough our team is and how resilient we are.”

On one takeaway from the loss …

“It shows that we can compete with the best teams in the league. We beat the preseason No. 1 (Hofstra) and No. 2 (James Madison). We are right up there with William and Mary (preseason No. 4). It shows that we have a lot of potential.”