Box Score
Photo
Gallery
Alumni
Game Photos
WILLLIAMSTOWN, MA-The Williams men's basketball team (15-3, 2-2)
fell to the rival Amherst Lord Jeffs (15-2, 4-0) for the second
time this season, 86-70. The defending national champion and
3rd-ranked Lord Jeffs once again had too many weapons for the Ephs,
hitting some clutch threes in both halves to take the win.
The first half witnessed a number of role reversals for the
Jeffs since the first time these two teams met. Senior
forward Brandon Jones had a barely audible first half after
torching the Ephs for a double-double earlier in the year,
finishing the first half with no points while attempting only one
shot.
Filling in for Jones though was monster center Kevin
Hopkins. The 6'10" senior dominated the first half in only 13
minutes of play, scoring 12 points on 6 of 10 shooting, as well as
registering 5 blocks (he would finish with 20 points and 6
blocks). Hopkins' presence was felt on every play, as he
altered countless shots in addition to those he blocked. When
these two teams met in Amherst earlier this year, Hopkins got into
foul trouble and managed only 2 points.
The size and length of the Amherst starting five took a toll on
the Ephs in the teams' first meeting, and Williams started the
first half determined to change that. Guards Kevin Snyder '09
and Chris Rose '08 made nice plays driving to the hoop early on,
and the Ephs showed a penchant for getting open shots that they'd
lacked the first time around.
Amherst would respond however, and foul trouble to Eph senior
point guard Chris Shalvoy manifested itself in the form of some
awkward offensive possessions. By the end of the half,
Amherst had regained most of the momentum and held a 40-32 lead.
"I think Shalvoy being out with foul trouble really killed us,"
said Eph coach Dave Paulsen. "He's gotta be smarter and not
pick up two dumb fouls reaching in like that...we can't win games
with good players in foul trouble early. I think Tommas did a
fine job filling in but Shalvoy's our heart and soul and he just
can't be picking up stupid fouls - that was definitely a turning
point in the game."
Opposite Shalvoy was Amherst point guard and last year's
National Player of the Year Andrew Olson, who scored only 4 points
but notched 11 assists to lead the Jeffs to victory.
The big story for Amherst though was reserve Steven
Wheeler. The 6'5" shooting guard hit five threes, most of
them coming at the worst possible times for the Ephs.
"Wheeler's a very, very good player but we lost him too much, we
gave him too many open looks," said Paulsen. "I think he was
the key for them; you know Hopkins and Baskauskas are going to get
their points, but when they're getting 19 off the bench from
Wheeler we're in trouble."
Williams threatened early in the second half and even tied the
score at 48 during one stretch, but the Jeffs again answered with a
big run to take the wind out of the Eph sails. Despite
hitting only one field goal in the final seven minutes of the game,
the Jeffs hit their free throws and never let the Ephs get close.
Williams shot just 17% from behind the arc, a bad sign when
trying to upset the number three team in the country and defending
national champs. Coach Paulsen thought shaky inside play
contributed to the poor outside shooting:
"I think we threw the ball inside with mixed results at
best...we didn't score with a high enough percentage from 2 or 3
feet away from the hoop, and it all kind of dominoes from there."
If there was a bright spot for the Ephs it was Snyder. The
junior guard led the team with 19 points on 6 for 13 shooting, and
showed an incredible ability to compete with the taller, longer
forwards of Amherst in finishing a number of athletic drives to the
hoop.
"He really competed; he's really grown this season and done some
real good things. We just gotta get everyone playing well on
the same night, and up to this point that hasn't happened even
though we've won some games," said Paulsen.
Brian Baskauskas joined Hopkins and Wheeler in double digits for
the Jeffs with 17 points, most of them coming from the free throw
line. For Williams Geoghegan had 17 and Shalvoy managed 13
points.
In the end, the Jeffs just had too many weapons for an Eph team
somewhat fatigued by a tough win last night versus Trinity.
"That's a really good team; you've gotta be at a great energy
and focus level to beat them," said Paulsen. "Right now on
January 26th they're better than us, hopefully if we see them again
we'll be better."
Williams returns to action in an away game at Hamilton this
Tuesday. Game time is set for 8:00 pm.
