Delaware 75, William & Mary 74: Carl Baptiste scored a career-high 24 points and hit the go-ahead shot with 12 seconds remaining as the Blue Hens edged the Tribe in the Colonial Athletic Association title game in Baltimore.

Baptiste added eight rebounds while Jarvis Threatt had 18 points, seven boards and four assists for top-seeded Delaware (25-9), which won the CAA tournament for the first time and earned its first trip to the NCAA Tournament since winning the America East in 1999. Devon Saddler poured in 16 points while Davon Usher contributed eight points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Marcus Thornton tallied 22 points for No. 3 seed William & Mary (20-12), which advanced to the championship game for the third time in the last seven seasons but saw its dreams of making the Big Dance for the first time dashed. Tim Rusthoven score 16 points and Omar Prewitt finished with 14 as the Tribe lost to the Blue Hens for the third time this season.

After trailing by as many as eight early on, Delaware used a 19-6 surge to battle back before settling for a 39-33 halftime lead. Kyle Anderson drained a 3-pointer with 16:42 remaining to extend the Blue Hens’ margin to 12 before Rusthoven and Prewitt combined for William & Mary’s next 13 points to cut its deficit to 53-48 with 12 minutes to go.

Prewitt’s jumper with 4 ½ minutes left gave the Tribe a 66-65 lead while his 3-pointer just over three minutes later stretched the advantage to six. However, Saddler hit a pair of free throws and Threatt converted a three-point play, setting the stage for Baptiste’s lay-in in the lane following a Delaware timeout while Thornton’s last-second jumper on the other end hit off the back rim.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Baptiste, who shot 9-of-11 from the field on Monday, converted 18 of his 25 field-goal attempts in the tournament. … Along with Army, St. Francis (N.Y.), Northwestern and Citadel, William & Mary is one of five original Division I members that has yet to qualify for the NCAA Tournament. … Delaware has won 19 of its last 21 contests.