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Williamstown, MA - No. 11 Williams men's
basketball edged out no. 9 Amherst, 72-69, for the first time in
six tries on Williams' home floor. The victory gives the Ephs
a 113-87 advantage in the all time series, and makes Williams head
coach Mike Maker's career record vs. the Lord Jeff's
2-2 and makes Amherst head coach David Hixon's career record
vs. the Ephs 35-39. Williams is now 12-1 on the season; Amherst
fell to 8-2.
James Wang led three Ephs in double figures with 19 points; he
also grabbed 5 rebounds and picked up 6 assists. The Ephs'
center tandem of co-captain Joe Geoghegan and Troy Whittington
dominated the post, scoring 16 and 11 points, snagging 9 and 3
boards, and blocking one shot each.
Amherst's Conor Meehan led all scorers with 21 points; he
also led the Jeffs in rebounds and assists, with 7 and 8,
respectively. Freshman guard Willy Workman also had a strong
all-around game, with 14 points on 7-11 shooting, 7 rebounds, and 3
assists for the game.
Williams co-captain Blake Schultz and Amherst captain Steven
Wheeler, the leading scorers for both teams who were averaging more
than 19 points a game coming into the contest, scored only 8 and 13
points, respectively.
The game was back-and-forth as the first half opened. Amherst
jumped out to an 11-7 lead four minutes in on a Wheeler fast-break
lay up four minutes in. Williams responded with a 9-0 run capped by
a jumper from Schultz with 13:39 to play that forced Amherst to
call a timeout. Amherst then tied the game at 16-16 when Jeff
Holmes scored his only points of the game with 11:28 to play.
The Ephs again responded, scoring 7 straight points to make the
score 23-16 with 9:34 to play. The Jeffs were again able to fight
back, making the score 23-22 on a Wheeler three with 6:54 to play
before the Ephs opened up a 36-24 lead behind the play of Geoghegan
and Wang; the pair combined for 7 points, 3 rebounds, an assist,
and a steal during the run, with Geoghegan completing a
conventional three point play on a monstrous dunk during the run.
The Ephs and Jeffs traded baskets for the rest of the half, and
the first 20 minutes closed with the Ephs leading, 43-30. The
majority of the Williams advantage came from points around the
basket, as the Ephs outscored the Jeffs 20-10 in the paint in the
half. Williams also played great defense in the half, holding
Amherst to 41% shooting and 30% shooting from three while putting
up 54% and 50% totals. Wang scored 14 in the first half to key the
Eph offense, while Wheeler led the Jeffs with 10.
The second half was a very different story. Amherst opened the
half on a 16-6 run to make the score 49-46 with 14 minutes to play.
Less than two minutes later, Whittington fouled Wheeler on a three
with the score 49-48 to give the Jeffs a chance to take the lead,
but Wheeler missed all three free throws.
As the half progressed, the Ephs still couldn't stop the
Jeff onslaught, and Amherst tied the game 53-53 on a Meehan three
with 9:31 to play. Williams then responded with a ferocious
Whittington and-one dunk, making the score 56-53 with 9:05 to play;
the Ephs would lead the rest of the way, and were able to stretch
their lead to 11, 66-55, with 3:24 to play.
However, the game's closing minutes were not without
drama. The Wiliams lead had shrunk to 66-61 with 1:36 to play on a
Meehan jumper, but the Ephs appeared to seal the game when Alex
Rubin responded with a three to make the score 69-61 with 1:02 to
play. Still, The Jeffs refused to go away, as freshman center Peter
Kaasila expectedly brought the Jeffs back into the game, hitting a
lay-up with 45 seconds to play and a three with 27 seconds
remaining following a Wang missed one-and-one to make the score
69-66.
The Jeffs then fouled Geoghegan before the ball was inbounded;
Geoghegan missed his the front end of the one-and-one, but Meehan
missed a three with 18 seconds remaining. Geoghegan was fouled as
he went up for the rebound and hit two free throws to make the
score 71-65 with 16 seconds to go. But the Jeffs still would not
give up, as Wheeler hit a three with 9 seconds to go to make the
score 71-69. Geoghegan was then fouled again; he made the first
free throw, but missed the second, but the Jeffs could not score,
and the game ended with the 72-69 final tally.
The teams switched roles in the second half, as Amherst outshot
Williams 49% to 38% from the field. However, Amherst was hampered
by terrible second half free throw shooting, as the team went only
1-10 from the line in the half and 4-15 from the line on the game;
in contrast, the Ephs went 9-12 in the second half and 18-23 in the
game.
“I am obviously proud of our entire group – it was a
great performance,” said Maker. “Our toughness
surfaced, and it was needed. We found a way to win a game with
competitiveness, spirit, and toughness, and I was really pleased
with how we played.”
The Ephs will now prepare for the opening of NESCAC play next
week, when they will take on Tufts and Bates at home, first at 8
p.m. on Friday, then at 4 p.m. on Saturday.
