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WILLIAMSTOWN, MA--In a physical rematch of a 76-61 Eph victory
earlier in the season, the Williams men's basketball team (17-8)
defeated the Bobcats of Bates College (13-12) in the first round of
the NESCAC tournament Saturday, 87-78. The game was, perhaps,
the last game on the 2008-09 Ephs home floor of Chandler Gymnasium,
as the number three seeded Ephs will go on to face rival Amherst
for the third time this year next weekend at Middlebury in the
NESCAC semifinals.
After a back-and-forth first half left the Ephs up 37-32, things
really started to get going in the second half. The Bobcats
seemed to have an answer every time Williams threatened to stretch
the lead. During one period in the second half, the Ephs
lengthened their lead to six or seven on five separate occasions
only to see the Bobcats answer with a basket of their own to cut
the lead back to within five. At one point Eph freshman James
Wang (Sydney, Australia) seemed to have broken the cycle with a
three-point play to put the Ephs up 56-48 and force a Bobcat
timeout, but Bates emerged from the break with an offensive rebound
and Ben Thayer hit a jumper to cut the lead back down to size.
Moments later Williams came out of a timeout and finally
stretched the lead to double digits on a Harlan Dodson (Nashville,
TN) three-pointer from the corner. Finding Dodson for the
open look in transition was Williams co-captain Kevin Snyder
(Littleton, CO) as the Ephs began to push the pace. On
Williams next possession Wang pushed the ball upcourt and found
Snyder for a lay-up and the foul. A Wang free throw at 7:22
barely a minute later gave Williams their biggest lead of the
night, 66-52, and capped a 10-2 Eph run.
As was the theme all night, though, Bates would answer and
fast. After the free throw by Wang, Bobcat guard Marshall
Hatch hit a deep three to spark a return-volley to the Eph
run.
With just 1:56 remaining and the Ephs up 76-70, Bobcats guard
Thayer somehow broke free for a wide open three which he drilled,
right between the eyes to pull Bates within three, 76-73. It
was the closest margin since the beginning of the second half when
Jimmy O'Keefe tipped in a Bobcat miss to make it 37-34 in favor of
the Ephs, and it ended a 21-10 Bates run since Williams had
registered their biggest lead of the night at the 7:22 mark.
Bates newfound striking distance was short-lived, however, as
after a Williams timeout, Eph leading scorer Blake Schultz
(Atherton, CA) drove the lane on the left side for a hotly
contested lay-up and some breathing room at 78-73.
On the other end of the floor Troy Whittington helped the Ephs
make a hugely important defensive stop. The high-flying
forward from Brooklyn held his ground in defending the 6'7" Sean
Wirth in the post, forcing a missed shot and then grabbing the
rebound. On the ensuing Williams possession Whittington was
fouled and hit both clutch free throws to make it a
three-possession game again at 80-73.
With time winding down Bates was forced to foul, but the Ephs
took care of the ball and hit their free throws, holding on for an
87-78 victory.
Bobcats leading scorer Chris Wilson led the team with 12 points
but scored only two in the second half. Wilson also grabbed
six rebounds and dished out four assists, both team-highs.
Ben Thayer added 11 with 9 coming in the second half, and forward
Alex Gallant and guard Scott Place each added 10 points.
For the Ephs it was Schultz leading the charge with 21 points on
6 of 9 shooting from the floor and 7 of 10 from the free throw
line. Alex Rubin (Chevy Chase, MD) came off the bench for 20
points on an impressive 6 for 7 from the field and 6 of 6 from the
line, while the captain Snyder had 14 points and a team-high 5
assists.
Williams out shot Bates 52% to 45% from the field and killed the
Bobcats at the free throw line, burying 31 freebies to Bates'
nine. In pulling down 14 offensive rebounds, though, Bates
was able to make up for the Ephs' marksmanship for much of the
game.
Eph coach Mike Maker was happy with the win:
"On the year their rebounding margins are better than anybody in
the NESCAC," said Maker, "I think our energy and our camaraderie
was the key today; I've said all year long that this team has
unbelievable chemistry, and nobody wanted this to be the seniors'
last game. I couldn't be prouder of this team."
As for the play of Whittington down the stretch, Maker again was
pleased:
"Troy's given us an unbelievable lift. As disappointed as
we are when any player goes down with an injury - and we all
obviously feel bad for Joe [Geoghegan] - it's an opportunity for
other guys. He alters and blocks shots, he's got long arms
and he's a tough match-up one on one."
The Ephs will go on to face Amherst at host site Middlebury
College next Saturday at 2:00 pm. Regarding the match up,
Coach Maker remarked "I'm gonna enjoy this one first," but added "I
mean it's been a fantastic year and we're very proud of the Little
Three title, but we're not satisfied. We're proud of what
we've done but we're looking forward to the opportunity to play
Amherst again on a neutral court."
