Boxscore
HARTFORD, CT –
Second-ranked Williams men's basketball has gone undefeated
in the NESCAC regular season for the first time since the 2003-2004
season, as the Ephs dropped Trinity 83-66 on the road this
afternoon to make their conference record 9-0 and their overall
record 23-1. The win was the Ephs' 14th straight. The Ephs
were led yet again by Blake Schultz, who scored 27 points on 11-16
shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds, and the team controlled both ends
of the floor, outshooting the Bantams 61% to 38%.
Combined with his performance in yesterday's
81-60 victory over Amherst, Schultz averaged 24 points and 4.5
rebounds per game this weekend. He leads the NESCAC in scoring with
19.3 points per game (20.9 per game in conference play), and is
first in the country in three-point field goal percentage, hitting
an incredible 55% of his three point attempts. "Blake is one of the
premier players not only in league but on a national scale," said
M
ike Maker, head coach of the Ephs. "He can get his own shot, he's
excellent one-on-one, and we can post him up, so he's a handful to
guard. He's an excellent player, and we give him a lot of free
reign within our structure because of hit. He had an unbelievable
weekend and season, not only through play but through leadership
and competitive fire."
James Wang and Alex Rubin joined Schultz in
double figures with 19 and 14 points, respectively. Rubin put on a
shooting clinic, going 5-7 from the field, while Wang yet again
contributed in every facet of the game from the point guard
position, grabbing 4 rebounds and assisting on 6 buckets along with
an impressive 5-8 effort from the field.
The only facet of the game where the Bantams
had success was from behind the arc, as the team shot 12-23 from
three (53%). However, the Ephs were even more impressive from
three, going 14-19 (68%).
Ian Fels scored 22 points for the Bantams but
did so on only 41% shooting; Salah Abdo was the only other Bantam
in double figures with 12 points.
Williams came out firing early, with Schultz
picking up where he left off the night before, scoring 11 of the
team's first 13 points and helping Williams to a 13-8 lead
5:06 into the game. Trinity responded five point lead of its own,
going up 20-15 with 11:14 to play in the half after knocking down
four consecutive threes.
The Ephs then exploded on the offensive end.
The team went on an 18-5 run, retaking the lead 27-26 with 8:26 to
play on a Wang three before a Rubin three with 7:12 remaining in
the half that gave the Ephs a 32-26 lead and forced Trinity to call
time out.
Trinity came out of the time out firing, as
Abdo hit a three immediately out of the timeout, and the Bantams
were able to pull within two twice; however, the Ephs would not
relinquish the lead. A dunk from conference-field-goal-percentage
leader Troy Whittington with 29 seconds remaining made the score
40-35, and the Ephs held the Bantams on the final possession to go
into half time with a 5 point lead.
The Ephs came out firing as the second half
opened, increasing their advantage to 12 when a three from Rubin
made the score 54-42 in favor of the Ephs four minutes into the
half. The Bantams responded with a three pointer, and the Eph lead
hovered around 9 for several minutes before a Schultz jumper and a
Wang three put the Ephs up 64-50 with 10:14 to play. The Bantams
called time out in response and scored four straight points before
Schultz responded with five straight of his own, giving Williams a
69-54 lead with 7:59 remaining.
The Bantams soon cut the Eph lead back to 10,
69-59, with 6:39 to play on a Felsian lay up; The Ephs again
responded, as threes from Rubin and Wang put the Ephs up 75-59 with
3:32 to play. The Bantams then picked up in the full court but
couldn't put a real dent in the Eph lead, and the game ended
in an 83-66 Eph victory.
Like the night before, the Ephs' second half
defense was stellar; the team held the Bantams to 32% second half
shooting. In contrast, Williams shot 65% from the field in the
second 20 minutes.
The moved the ball particularly well during
game, assisting on 21 of 27 made field goals. Harlan Dodson scored
9 points on 3-4 shooting from three on the game, while the center
tandem of Whittington and Joe Geoghegan scored 5 and 9 points,
respectively. Whittington also had 3 blocks, while Geoghegan had 5
boards.
"It's always challenging on the road in league
play, and today was no different," said Maker. "With the game
coming on the heals of very emotional game last night against our
archrival [Amherst], I am very proud of our team for responding
favorably on the second day of the back-to-back with a quick
turnaround against an athletic team. Once again I thought our
offensive efficeincy was great all game and that we came out with a
spirited scond half, getting the cushion we needed to end the game
comfortably. We are looking forward to having the rest of the
weekend off and having the chance regroup Monday ahead of a
challenging conference tournament game [against Wesleyan]."
The victory puts the Ephs on track for the No.
1 overall ranking in the country after current No. 1 Guilford fell
earlier in the week to 16th-ranked Eastern Mennonite
90-64. The Ephs had clinched the right to host the NESCAC
tournament yesterday with their defeat of Amherst, and will prepare
to take on eighth-seeded Wesleyan in the conference tournament next
Saturday at 4 p.m. The Ephs would advance to the semi-finals with a
victory, which would be held at Williams on Feb. 27 and Feb. 28.
"We are very excited about hosting NESCACs and
playing Wesleyan at home next weekend," said Schultz. "They are a
young, talented team that we know will play hard. We are looking
forward to having a full week to get better and play in front of a
good home crowd [next Saturday]."
