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Williamstown, MA - No. 10 Williams men's
basketball rebounded from last week's tough loss to No. 4
Randolph Macon to beat Southern Maine handily, 93-59, in the
opening game of the Purple and Gold Invitational. The Ephs were in
the driver's seat the entire way; no Eph played fewer than 6
minutes in the game and 15 scored as the team improved to 10-1 on
the season.
The Ephs took control early in first half behind the shooting of
Alex Rubin, who scored the Ephs' first 9 points on 3 threes
to put Williams up 9-4 three minutes into the game. The Eph lead
reached 11 when a Will Hardy three put the Ephs up 17-6 with 13:25
to play; the Ephs then slowly stretched their lead, eventually
going up by 49-25 headed into the half.
The Ephs shot lights out in the first 20 minutes, going 17-33
from the field for 52% shooting. More impressively, the Ephs held
the Huskies to 29% shooting and outrebounded the Huskies 26-17. The
work of co-captain Blake Schultz, with the help of a variety of
teammates, held Husky's leading-scorer Cortez Isaac, who was
averaging 29 points per game coming into the contest, to 1-8
shooting from the field and 7 points. Perhaps the most impressive
statistic of the half was that the Ephs assisted on 15 of 17 made
baskets.
Rubin ended the period with 15 points, and Nate Robertson added
12 on 5-5 shooting from the floor. Harlan Dodson and co-captain Joe
Geoghegan led the Ephs on the boards with five each.
Head Coach Mike Maker was very pleased with the play of Rubin
and the team as a whole in the first half. “[Rubin], who is a
great shooter, is highly intelligent, and picks his spots…
was the recipient of unselfish play from his teammates, and Alex
can shoot,” he said. “He happened to be the one that
put the dagger in, but I think we have a lot of weapons on the
perimeter and on the interior. We try to take advantage of how the
defense is playing – as a result, today we shared the ball
and were able to shoot a high percentage.”
Williams continued to dominate in the second half, as the Ephs
opened the half with a 19-9 run in the first 4:34, making the lead
68-34. James Wang, who keyed the run with 9 points and was the last
starter remaining in the game, then left the game; the Eph reserves
then played the rest of the way. The Ephs led by as many as 40
before the game ended with the 93-59 final tally.
While the Eph offense was not as efficient in the second 20
minutes as it was in the first, shooting 42% from the floor, the
Ephs were still able to score the 44 second-half points by
extending possessions with offensive rebounds; the team grabbed 12
in the half. The Huskies were able to score more effectively in the
second half, shooting 43% from the floor as a team with Isaac
scoring 15 second half points to the end the game with 22 on 8-18
shooting; however, they still only scored 34 points in the half.
The Ephs outshot the Huskies 46%-35% for the game.
Rubin and Robertson ended the game as the only Ephs in double
figures, though neither scored in the second half. James Klemm and
Mike Moorestein both scored all 8 of their points the second 20.
Troy Whittington ended the day with an impressive overall game,
scoring 9 points, snagging 8 rebounds, picking up 3 assists and
blocking 3 shots.
“I am pleased with our response to a [tough] loss down in
Virginia,” said Maker. “It shows our makeup, our
character, and our leadership from our senior class to be able
respond in such a favorable way after such a heartbreaking loss. I
am also pleased that everybody on the roster got an opportunity to
play and contribute as they richly deserve.”
Williams will now take on Colby-Sawyer, who defeated Worcester
State 89-83 in the second game of the tournament, at 7 pm tomorrow
night in the tournament final.
