Strong Second Half Guides Williams over Bowdoin 82-53

BRUNSWICK, ME. -- The Williams College Ephs (11-1, 2-1 NESCAC) used a strong second half to defeat the Bowdoin Polar Bears (9-5, 0-1 NESCAC) by a score of 82-53 to kick off a NESCAC double-header in Maine on Friday night. Trailing 22-15 early on, the Ephs closed the first half on a 15-6 run to take the lead into the break. Their hot streak continued into the second half, as the squad shot 77% the rest of the way to outscore Bowdoin 52-25. Cole Prowitt-Smith and Brandon Roughley each had 16 points for the Ephs in the win.
 
"Today was our first road game in over a month and our first time having to bounce back after a loss in the previous game," Eph head coach Kevin App said following the win. "We played a little tired early on and missed a couple easy shots. A lot of that was credit to Bowdoin. Similar to last Friday, our depth and size kind of wore them out throughout the game and our guys got back to moving the ball and playing with some pace in the second half."
 
A Prowitt-Smith layup put the Ephs down 12-11 with 12:08 left in the first half, but the Ephs would muster just 2 points in the next 4:54 of game action. Bowdoin finished a three-point-play to go up 15-11 with 10:58 left in the half, and James McGowan hit a triple to put the home team ahead 22-15 with 6:22 to go.
 
Back-to-back pairs of free throws from Spencer Spivy energized the Ephs offense, and Nate Karren narrowed the lead to one possession at 21-24. McGowan responded with a basket of his own, but the Ephs proceeded to close the half on a 9-2 run in the final 2:26. Brandon Roughley finished a reverse layup to knot the score at 28, and the stretch culminated in a Karren buzzer-beater to send Williams into the locker room with a 30-28 lead. 
 
Despite a slow start, Williams outshot Bowdoin in the first half, going 11-25 (44%) from the field to the Polar Bears' 10-30 (33%). Karren led the Ephs with 9 points on 3-4 shooting, while McGowan scored 11 for the Polar Bears.
 
The Ephs continued their strong play, opening the second half on a 16-4 run. Williams scored the first 7 points of the second period, featuring a Prowitt-Smith long ball assisted by a handoff from Karren. Roughley netted the next two baskets for the Ephs and handed them a 42-32 advantage with 14:09 to play. The Ephs would maintain this double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
Strong three-point shooting for Williams complimented their defensive intensity, with six different players knocking down a trey. A Roughley triple pushed the lead to 63-42 with 7:13 left, and an emphatic two-handed-slam capped off a 16-point night off the bench for the first-year. App spoke about Roughley postgame, remarking, "Brandon was one of the guys who played the hardest in the first half and helped us have the run to the lead at halftime. That's just what he does, and he's had a ton of great moments."
 
Classmate Evan Glatzer also had a standout performance, scoring 10 points on 4-4 shooting. Said App, "Evan is growing more and more each day. He's been working hard, and that final step for him was seeing the ball go through the hoop. He's playing hard and playing with confidence, and his teammates were thrilled for him."
 
Williams shot 20-26 (77%) in the second half while in cashing 6-7 (86%) from deep. They held Bowdoin to 9-30 (30%) shooting in the half.  Prowitt-Smith and Roughley each contributed a game-high 16 points.
 
The Ephs currently allow the 6th fewest points per game in the country and fewest in NESCAC — tied exactly with Amherst — with an average of 59.9. "If there's 100 possessions or 50 possessions, we want to make each one as difficult as possible for the other team," App said of the defensive effort. I think we have size and length at every position, and teams aren't always used to seeing that day in and day out. When our guys are locked in and flying around, that length disrupts guys. Spencer Spivy is doing a phenomenal job lately at using his size to create advantages on that end. I think that's one of the areas where we play the most confidence, but we hope to be able to win in a different way whenever we need to."

The Ephs travel north to take on Colby tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m., before a non-conference rematch with Amherst on Wednesday, January 19.
 
"It's a challenge in our league. As happy as we are to get a road win, we have to put it behind us and get some rest to play a talented offensive team in Colby. The plan is to put in 80 complete minutes together on the road — we accomplished half of it, and we'll try to finish it out at Colby tomorrow."
 
"It'll be another good test for us offensively and defensively. They put a lot of pressure on you and make you switch a lot on the defensive end. Hopefully we continue some of the pace and aggressiveness that we had in the second half tonight."