Williamstown, MA. — The Williams College Ephs (10-0, 1-0 NESCAC) used a strong second half to pull away for a 61-45 win over the Hamilton College Continentals (6-5, 0-1 NESCAC) on Friday evening at Chandler Gym. Hamilton came in averaging 78 points per game, but the commanding Eph defense allowed just 16 second half points to seal a victory.
"That's a hard game after almost 30 days in between competition," Eph head coach
Kevin App stated after the game. "I thought in the first half we looked a little tired, but our depth showed, and we were able to keep the pressure on Hamilton defensively."
The opening ten minutes of the game saw aggressive defense from both teams, with the majority of possessions ending in a turnover or a forced attempt towards the end of the shot clock.
Cole Prowitt-Smith hit the first trey of the night for the Ephs with a step-back jumper, and
Declan Porter cashed one on the next Ephs' next trip down the court for a 10-9 Williams edge 5 minutes into the contest.
No team could seem to build a strong advantage, and Connor Rood hit a jumper for Hamilton to tie the game at 20 with 6:40 left in the half. A couple minutes later, a Prowitt-Smith and-1 put the Ephs up 25-21; however, the teams would head into the locker room with the scored knotted 29-29 after Hamilton ended the half with two straight baskets. No team ever led by more than 4 points.
"We were tied at halftime — which we hadn't been recently — and just kept with it," App continued. "Having a winning streak allows you to play with a sense of composure in a tight game, and we trust that if we play our game, a run will happen at some point."
Porter hit twice more from deep in the half to lead the all scorers with 14 points on 4-5 shooting. As a team, the Ephs shot 44% to Hamilton's 39%.
A chasedown block on the opening Hamilton possession of the second half from
Nate Karren foreshadowed an increased intensity for the Ephs. Further blocks from three different Eph players assisted in holding the Continentals scoreless for over 5:00 to begin the half. Still, the Ephs managed just 4 points during this span, and held a slight 33-31 edge.
After a Hamilton timeout,
Jovan Jones followed up his own shot to give the Ephs a 6-point lead, their largest of the game to that point. Karren tipped in a miss off the glass to extend the advantage, and next hit a turnaround hook to push the Williams advantage to double digits. A Porter triple capped off a 15-2 run for the Ephs at the midway point of the half.
The Ephs did not look back the rest of the way, holding a steady lead that gradually grew from 10 to 20.
Alex Stoddard made the highlight play of the second half, drawing the defense and dishing to
Brandon Arnold for a layup. He later hit a corner three of his own to put the Ephs up 53-37 with 5:46 to go.
Spencer Spivy pushed the lead to 20 with two minutes remaining, and the Ephs held on for a victory.
Porter netted a game-high 14 points for the Ephs, who shot 21-51 (41%), while Hank Morgan posted 13 for the Continentals. Hamilton went 17-56 (30%) from the floor.
"Tonight was almost a second "first" game," said App. "Usually we get a few non-conference games before NESCAC starts, so beginning with a conference game is big. But this group keeps building more equity and trust with me in terms of knowing they'll compete and figure it out.
The Ephs are back at home tomorrow to host rival Amherst in a conference showdown at 2 p.m. Just like tonight's game, Williams students will be the only spectators permitted.
"I can't thank NESCAC and Williams enough for letting us get back out there safely and compete. It's more fun and worthwhile than they probably know, and to see students back in the gym and our guys out there competing after a long week was great."
