Ephs Defeat Amherst on Road 60-54

AMHERST, MASS. -- The Williams College Ephs (13-1, 3-1 NESCAC) defeated the Amherst Mammoths (10-5, 2-2 NESCAC) by a score of 60-54 in the storied LeFrak Gymnasium on Wednesday evening. In a non-conference victory, the Ephs avenged their loss to Amherst just 11 days ago with a disciplined display of defense and varied offensive production. After a first half run to go up double-digits, the Ephs held a comfortable edge until the Mammoths tied the game with 11 minutes left. Composure down the stretch enabled Williams to quickly regain the lead, and key defensive stops in the final minutes held off the Mammoths.
 
"Anytime you can win one of these Williams-Amherst games, you're proud and it's awesome," Eph head coach Kevin App remarked after the game. "As a coaching staff, you learn how each group responds to different situations. This Little Three game is the unique part of playing Amherst twice. When they get you the first time, some groups play more tense and some play more confident. These guys came out and just executed — they didn't panic and found a way to win on the road."
 
The first several minutes featured high-level defense and saw Amherst holding a narrow 7-5 lead 7:40 into the contest. Kickstarted by a layup from Brandon Arnold, the Ephs began a 12-0 run that put them up 17-7 with 8:22 to go in the first half.
 
Grant Robinson hit consecutive triples to keep Amherst within reach, but Marc Taylor responded with a transition three-pointer after a Brandon Roughley block to put the Ephs up 24-13 and force a Mammoths timeout with 6:00 to play.
 
A balanced Ephs attack in the first half featured nine players totaling 8 or more minutes of court action. Eight of those players scored, with Jovan Jones' 6 points leading the way. Arnold also grabbed an impressive 7 rebounds in the period. For Amherst, Robinson tallied over half of the Mammoths points; he put up 13 on 4-5 shooting. The Ephs shot 10-27 (32%) in the first half, while Amherst went 9-28 (32%).
 
Nate Karren began the second half with a lefty layup, and a subsequent trey from the center pushed the Ephs advantage back to 11. Amherst, however, forced several turnovers as they embarked on a 14-2 run and tied the game at 40 with 11:22 remaining.
 
"When Amherst made those runs the first time we played, we panicked a little and turned those runs into bigger ones," App said. "We've had some great defensive games, but tonight was our best job of really executing the plan. They hit a couple shots, but we stuck with it and knew we had enough firepower on the offensive end to make some plays."
 
Declan Porter netted his first points of the day to stop the damage, and Karren found the hoop from deep to give the Ephs a 46-40 lead. Robinson and Porter exchanged baskets in the paint, and Garrett Day hit a three-pointer to close the gap to just 3 points with 6:39 left.
 
Holding a slim lead, Cole Prowitt-Smith hit a turnaround jumper for Williams and then sank two free throws on the next possession for a 54-47 lead. A Canin Reynolds three-pointer, however, prompted an App timeout with the Ephs up 4 and 3:33 left.
 
A few long possessions for both teams culminated in missed shots or turnovers, until Prowitt-Smith hit a dagger to beat the shot clock buzzer and put the Ephs up 56-50 with 48 seconds to go.
 
The Ephs shot 4-5 from the charity stripe in the final minute to cap off the win. While the Mammoths heavily dominated on free throws in the team's previous meeting this season, Williams was 13-17 to Amherst's 4-5 tonight.
 
Nate Karren led the way for the Ephs with 17 points and 7 boards, while Prowitt-Smith and Spencer Spivy added 9 each. Robinson also had 17 for the Mammoths. As a team, the Ephs narrowly outshot the Mammoths 20-52 (39%) to 21-58 (36%).
 
Williams gets back to business at home on Saturday, January 22 against a 14-2 Middlebury team, who comes in atop the NESCAC standings with a 4-0 record.
 
"This is a unique week every year where we play two great teams — Amherst and Middlebury — on a consecutive Wednesday and Saturday. We'll learn from this one and get physically, emotionally, and mentally geared up for a tough NESCAC game Saturday at home."