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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Williams men's basketball
shot 60 percent from the field and 63 percent from three for the
game en route to a 104-70 victory at home over SUNYIT in the Sweet
16. 17 of the Ephs' 37 field goals on the game were threes,
and 24 of the team's field goals were assisted. Williams now
stands at 28-1 for the season; the team has won 19 straight games,
which breaks the Ephs' all time record for consecutive in-season
wins. SUNYIT finished its season with a 26-5 record. The Ephs will
now take on Brandeis in the Elite Eight tomorrow night at 7 pm in
Chandler Gymnasium.
Blake Schultz, fresh off winning the Josten's Trophy, finished
with 21 points for the Ephs, as did Alex Rubin and James Wang. All
three players contributed in every facet of the game: Schultz added
5 rebounds, 3 assists, and steal, while Wang finished with 7
rebounds and 6 assists, both a team-high, and Rubin added 3
rebounds and 2 assists of his own. Troy Whittington added 13 points
on 6-6 field goal shooting – four of which were dunks –
and six other Ephs scored in the victory.
SUNYIT shot 45 percent for the game. Diloo Brown led the way for
the for the Wildcats with 26 points, David Golembowski finished
with 14 and Kevin Capiello added 11. Golembowski led the way on the
boards for SUNYIT with a game-high of 9.
Feeding off the momentum of a packed Chandler gymnasium with a
raucous crowd, Williams took control of the game from the get-go,
taking an 18-8 lead only 5:37 into the first half. SUNYIT cut the
lead to five, 20-15, after a layup by Floyd Thorne with 11:42 to
play in the half – but that was as close as the Wildcats
would get the rest of the game. Williams brought the lead back over
double digits after a three by Rubin with 9:47 remaining made the
score 30-19; the Ephs then slowly stretched their lead over the
rest of the half, leading by as many as 20 before entering the
break up 50-34.
Williams shot 56 percent from the floor and 58 percent from the
floor in the first while holding the Wildcats to 41 percent
shooting from the field and 31 percent shooting from three. Rubin
led the way for Williams in the half with 15 points on five three
pointers, while Brown finished with 13 and Golembiowski had 11 for
SUNYIT.
The Wildcats ramped up the intensity in the second half, as the
visitors scored the first five points coming out of the break to
cut the Ephs' lead to 11 only 1:08 into the half. But
Williams' offense soon found its rhythm, as the team went on
a 17-6 run over the next four minutes or so to make the score 67-45
with 14:51 remaining in the half. The visitors altered their
defensive scheme several times, but it was to no avail: Williams
continued to put the ball in basket over the rest of the half, and
led by as many as 36 at one point before ultimately claiming the
104-70 victory.
The highlight of the last two minutes of the game was Eph senior
Mike Moorestein knocking down two threes to score the Ephs'
final six points of the game.
Williams' second half offense was even more prolific than
the first, as the team knocked down 63 percent of its field goals
and went 10-15 from three (67 percent). SUNYIT managed to shoot 50
percent from the field in the half, but the team's improved
offense did not help it make a dent the Ephs' lead.
Both Wang and Schultz scored 14 in the second half to lead the
way for Williams; Brown added another 13 to reach his 26-point
total for SUNYIT.
Williams head coach Mike Maker was particularly pleased with the
way the team moved the ball unselfishly on offense. “Once
again I am just so very proud of our team for the passion they play
with and our togetherness,” he said. “We are so
unselfish. Everyone talks about how good a shooting team we
are… but we are a better shooting team because we are
willing to work together and make the extra pass and trust one
another.”
“Our guys all year long have been willing to put the team
accomplishments above individual agendas,” Maker added.
“When they do that, it makes coaching easy.”
Maker also complimented his team's defense. “I think
the thing I keep encouraging people to understand is that our team
is as committed to the defensive end as we are on the offensive
end,” he said.
Even with the Ephs' impressive offense, there remains room
for improvement. “I think we need to get better at
recognizing the defense,” said Wang. “Once we recognize
it quicker we'll be able to even extend our offensive
game.”
Williams will now take on a Brandeis team that defeated Rhode
Island College earlier in the night, 76-65. Terrel Hollins led the
way for the Judges with 20 points and 16 rebounds on the game. The
Judges were ranked as high as No. 8 in the country earlier in the
season before falling out of the national rankings.
You can watch tomorrow's game live here. For other news about the Div. III NCAA
tournament, visit D3Hoops.com.
