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Williamstown, MA - Senior
guard and co-captain Blake Schultz scored 27 points and picked up
his 1,000th career point six minutes into the game as Williams
men's basketball handily defeated Salem State,
100-71. Sophomore guard James Wang added 18 for
the Ephs, and Troy Whittington grabbed his second double-double of
the year, scoring15 points and snagging 11 rebounds.
There was a moment of silence before the game
in respect for former Williams head coach Al Shaw, who passed away
at 102 yesterday. Shaw coached Williams for 24 years beginning in
the 1949-1950 season and had a 302-171 career record.
The Ephs led the Vikings 44-35 at the half.
Salem challenged the Williams in the first half, holding the Ephs
to 42% shooting from the field, forcing 10 turnovers, and
outrebounding the Ephs 27-24.
Yet even though they were not clicking on all
cylinders on offense in the first twenty minutes, the Ephs were
even tougher on the defensive end than the Vikings. The team
held Salem State to 32% shooting from the field and forced Salem
to commit 10 turnovers as well.
The Ephs led for the majority of the half,
though their lead fluctuated throughout. The team scored 7 straight
points with just under 15 minutes left in the half to take a 16-7
lead, with Schultz scoring his 1,000th point in the process.
However, Salem State fought back to get within
three with 12 minutes remaining in the half. The Ephs continued to
open up leads and Salem State continued to fight back, even getting
within one with 6:07 left. Williams ultimately held a nine-point
lead at the end of half after Wang hit a three pointer with only a
second remaining.
Head coach Mike Maker was happy with the way
his team played in the first half. “I thought we played a
very good first half outside of our turnovers and our
rebounding,” said Maker. “Salem State is a New England
power – they're young, but they have a great basketball
tradition. For us to have a nine-point cushion while turning the
ball over and not rebounding left me very pleased at half time. We
didn't make as many shots as I would like, but we were
getting the shots we wanted if we didn't turn it over.”
The poor shooting that plagued the Ephs in the
first half did not appear again in the second, as the Ephs shot 61%
from the field after the break en route to 66 second half points.
Meanwhile, the Ephs still played great defense, holding the Vikings
to 39% shooting from the floor for the half and forcing them to
miss all eight of their threes.
The Ephs still struggled to open up a large
lead in the half's opening minutes, but a Wang three pointer
with 14:23 to go gave Williams a 14 point lead. By the 11:34 mark,
the team led Salem by 20.
Salem State responded with physical play,
committing their seventh foul before the 10 minute mark and going
into the double-bonus with more than seven minutes remaining.
However, it did not phase the Ephs, as they did not lead by less
than 20 the rest of the game and led by as many as 30 before
ultimately claiming the 100-71 victory.
Williams shot 52% for the game while holding
Salem to 35%. While the Ephs outrebounded the Vikings for the game
46-45, they had allowed the Vikings to snag 21 offensive rebounds
and were only able to grab ten of their own. Ten Ephs scored in the
game, and the team turned the ball over only five times in the
second half.
“I am very pleased with where we
are,” said Maker. “As our rhythm offensively improves
and our pride defensively gets better I think we have a chance to
be a good basketball team. There is not much to be disappointed
about. The only thing that is a negative was Salem State's
offensive rebounding. Outside of that, I thought our team had
spirit, togetherness, and shared the ball. I am very proud of the
effort and our progression as a basketball team.”
Schultz scored 17 of his 27 points in the
second half. He picked up four rebounds, a block, and two steals on
the game, and shot a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line. He is
averaging 22 points and five rebounds a game for the Ephs.
“I have said it so many times,
Blake's spirit, his toughness, his passion for the game, the
contributions he has made not only to the program but to the
institution and the community – all show that he is a flat
out winner,” said Maker of his leading scorer. “He is
certainly an elite player not just in our league but in all of
Division III.”
Williams will now prepare to take on Vassar
Saturday in Chandler Gymnasium at 7:30.
