Ephs Fall to Amherst 73-65 for First Loss

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA. -- The Williams College Ephs (10-1, 1-1 NESCAC) fell to the Amherst Mammoths (9-3, 1-1 NESCAC) by a score of 73-65 on Saturday afternoon at Chandler Gym. Playing in front of a student-only crowd for the second day in a row, the Mammoths quickly extended a one-point halftime advantage into a double-digit lead. A late Ephs run cut the deficit numerous times to 4 points in the final minutes, but the Mammoths held on to give the Ephs their first loss of the season. Amherst hit their free throws down the stretch to finish 23-26 from the line.
 
"I didn't think we were at our best today on offense and defense, and Amherst made some big plays in the second half," Eph head coach Kevin App said following the game. "We wanted this one and I thought we were trying to get everything back in one play. The stretches where we stuck to our principles were really good."
 
Amherst jumped out to a 4-0 lead, but the defensive effort for the Ephs forced 3 early turnovers. Nate Karren hit a turnaround hook to put the Ephs on the board, and Spencer Spivy hit two deep balls to tie the game at 8 with 13:57 left in the first half. 

Brandon Arnold and Brandon Roughley hit consecutive baskets for the Ephs as the Mammoths continued to hold a slight advantage. Ryan Moon nailed a trey from the corner and a Cole Prowitt-Smith drive put the Ephs up 17-15. The teams continued to battle back and forth, with frequent ties and lead changes.

Karren prompted an Amherst timeout with a three-point basket from the top of the key to give the Ephs a 22-19 lead with 7:19 left in the half. After a powerful Alex Stoddard block, Karren beat his defender for an inside score to push the lead to 5. This would end up being the largest lead of the day for Williams.


 
A contested long ball from Canin Reynolds followed by another triple from teammate Grant Robinson gave Amherst a 30-26 edge with 3:26 to go in the half, and the teams went into the break with Amherst leading 31-30. The Ephs shot 13-25 (52%), while the Mammoths went 12-27 (44%).
 
Amherst opened the second half with three straight baskets, and App called a timeout to stop the run with Amherst up 38-31. Will Scherer's second dunk of the half helped extend the Mammoth's lead to 11 with 16:29 remaining. 
 
The Mammoths continued to hold a double-digit edge, only for a Stoddard long ball and Spivy and-one to close the gap to 47-43 with 13:15 to play. Robinson responded with two triples, and the Ephs once again found themselves down 10 with 9:17 left.
 
Consecutive baskets for Amherst handed them a 58-46 lead, App called a timeout with 7:02 to go.
 
Spivy cashed in from deep to give the Ephs life and proceeded to steal the ball on the other end. After drawing two defenders behind the arc, he found Karren for the 6' 8" sophomore's third long ball of the night. The basket put the Ephs behind just 60-54 with under five minutes left.
 
After a crucial stop, Prowitt-Smith scooped in a floater to trim the deficit to four with 3:49 to play. Amherst ended the 8-0 run, but Karren answered back out of a timeout to keep the lead at 4.
 
The Ephs could not trim the difference under 4 the rest of the way, and the Mammoths pulled away in the final minutes for the road victory.
 
Robinson led all scorers with 27 points, while shooting 14-14 from the charity stripe. Karren was the high scorer for the home team, netting 19 on 8-13 shooting. Both teams shot 44% from the field. 
 
Williams hits the road next weekend for a NESCAC back-to-back in Maine against Bowdoin and Colby.
 
"It was great to see the fans, and another good league game to learn from," App remarked. "We'll rest up tomorrow and learn from both games this weekend. We've practiced six times in the last month, so we'll get back out on the practice court and get our details and sharpness back. Unfortunately for the first time this year we have to learn from a loss — it's way more fun to learn from the wins — but this group will respond and have another great week."