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Williamstown, MA
- Second-ranked Williams men's basketball
dominated Bowdoin on Senior Day, claiming a 97-54 victory behind
59% shooting from the field, 37% field goal percentage defense, and
26 points in only 22 minutes from senior co-captain Blake Schultz.
The Ephs are now 21-1 on the season and 7-0 in the NESCAC; the team
has won twelve straight games and currently stands alone at the top
of the conference. The Polar Bears had beaten the Ephs three of
four times and in two straight games coming into the contest.
Every senior was able to score for the Ephs in
the game: Joe Geoghegan and William Hardy had 4 points each, Mike
Moorstein scored 3, and Ethan Timmins-Schiffman, Will Hardy, and
Charlie Cates each scored 2. James Wang and Brian Emerson joined
Schultz in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
Schultz finished the game 10-13 from the field and 6-6 from three;
he also picked up 2 rebounds and 3 assists.
The Ephs took control of the game from the
get-go, taking a 16-9 lead on a Schultz t
hree with 4:30 into the game behind 11 points from Schultz on 4-5
shooting. The Ephs then took over, and had opened up a 34-15 lead
with 6:50 to play. However, Williams couldn't entirely pull
away, as the Polar Bears went on an 8-3 run over the next 3:22 to
make the score 37-23. The teams traded baskets the rest of the
half, and Williams went into the break with a 47-31 lead.
The Ephs shot an incredible 68% from the field
and 69% from three in the first half. They also held Bowdoin to 42%
shooting. Schultz scored 18 in the half, going 7-7 from the field
after missing his first shot. Wang joined him in double figures
with 10 points on 4-5 shooting. Paul Sellew scored 13 for Bowdoin
and was the only Polar Bear in double figures.
The second half saw the Ephs take it up a
notch on the defense while continuing their onslaught on the
offensive end of the floor. The result was that Williams led by
more than 30 less than six minutes into the half and continued to
pull way the rest of the game. Their final 97-54 lead, a 43-point
margin, was their largest lead of the game.
Emerson scored all 11 of his points in the
final 10 minutes of the game to lead the Eph substitutes, and only
two Ephs didn't score in the game. The Ephs held the Polar
bears to 31% shooting from the floor in the second half, and Sellew
ended the game as the only Polar Bear in double figures, although
he did not score in the second half. Williams' own shooting
percentage dropped to 54% for the second twenty minutes, but the
team was nevertheless able to score 50 second-half points because
of strong offensive rebounding (6 in the final 10 minutes).
“Obviously I am happy with the
team's performance,” said Eph head coach Mike Maker.
“I was particularly happy to win on Senior Day on our home
court. These guys have given so much to the program and the
institution. We played well, we shared the ball, and I am very
happy for our seniors.”
Schultz's scoring outburst puts the
senior 61 points from 10th all time in Williams history with
1,330 points; with 505 rebounds, he also needs 2 more to move into
10th all time in Williams history. Meanwhile, Geoghegan sits
at sixth all time in Williams history for rebounds with 678 and
only needs 6 more to move into fifth. As a class, the seniors have
a 71-30 career record while claiming the 2007 NESCAC championship
and the Williams' first outright Little Three Title since
1996 last season.
“It is a little depressing to think
about having to replace these gentlemen,” said Maker.
“Not just their ability as basketball players, but the type
of young men they are and the impact they have on everyone around
them. I am happy about the success they have had, but the way they
are doing it is what is so impressive. They have had as much impact
on me as any group I have ever had the pleasure to be around, and
they are a pleasure to coach.”
The Ephs will head to Amherst next Friday for
an 8 pm game against the archrival Jeffs, who have been struggling
of late. The 14-7 Jeffs have lost four of their last five games and
four straight in the conference, including a 69-68 loss today to
Tufts. The team will then travel to Trinity on Saturday for a 4 pm
game that will be its final regular season game.
