LEWISTON, ME – The Williams College Ephs (15-3, 5-3 NESCAC) landed back in the win column with a 72-60 victory over the Bates Bobcats (9-11, 2-8 NESCAC) on Super Bowl Sunday in Maine. Identical stat lines of 16 points and 6 rebounds from sophomore duo
Cole Prowitt-Smith and
Nate Karren guided the Ephs offensively, but all 10 players who saw action scored. On a day when the Ephs outside shooting fell well under their season average of 40%, they used size and physicality to take over the game in the second half and cap off the regular season with a strong win.
"This week has been unlike any other," Eph head coach
Kevin App said after the game. "After three weeks of not feeling success — some of that was simply not playing, and then we had two losses — sometimes you forget what it feels like. I thought that came back over the weekend, and I was really proud of our effort today."
The Ephs created a number of solid looks early but started 0-7 from beyond the arc.
Alex Stoddard found a lane as the shot clock expired for an impressive layup to put Williams up 9-5.
After starting the day's scoring with an old-fashioned three-point-play,
Cole Prowitt-Smith found a cutting
Evan Glatzer, who finished an and-one of his own, for a 12-9 Ephs lead at the midway point of the first half.
With 8:59 to go in the half,
Nate Karren hit the team's first three-pointer. Bates never fell behind more than 7, however, and a pair of free throws from Jahmir Primer knotted the score at 21 with 4:46 left.
Prowitt-Smith and Karren combined for the final 8 Williams points of the half, and the Ephs took a 29-25 lead into the break. Both teams struggled from the field in the half — the Ephs shot 9-28 (32%) and the Bobcats went 7-23 (30%).
The sophomore duo of Karren and Prowitt-Smith led a balanced Ephs attack with 9 points each. Primer netted 11 points for the Bobcats in the first period.
Spencer Spivy found the hoop from inside to open the second half, and Williams would continue to attack the rim throughout the period. Behind layups from several players, as well as 5-6 shooting from the free throw line to open the half, the Ephs build a double-digit edge. Two long balls from Bates cut the deficit to 7 at 47-40, but
Jovan Jones and Spivy worked the lead back to 11.
Brandon Arnold also posted 4 points during the run.
"I thought the second unit of
Marc Taylor,
Brandon Roughley, and
Brandon Arnold won the game for us during this stretch," App said. "They came in and played with energy and got some big-time offensive rebounds. The guys that have interior presence made it felt, especially in the second half."
Karren nailed his second triple of the day with 8:18 left to hand the Ephs a 55-40 lead. While they would not extend it further, the Bobcats did not come within 8 the rest of the way. A Prowitt-Smith explosive drive along the baseline, and subsequent free throw after being fouled, made the score 62-50 with 2:58 to go.
Consistent free throw shooting was key for the Ephs down the stretch. After making 8-14 from the charity stripe in the first half, Williams knocked down 15-18 in the second. They further outscored the Bobcats 34-14 on points in the paint, making up for an off day from three-point range — 5-26 (19%).
Despite the box score, the Ephs shot selection was on par with a normal game. App remarked, "I think that's where things clicked again in how this group is able to win. The three-pointers we shot were terrific — I would not have passed up any of them."
In addition to the contributions from Karren and Prowitt-Smith, Spivy and Jones each grabbed 6 rebounds. Primer scored 25 points in the loss.
On his postgame message to the team as the squad heads into the playoffs, App said, "To be the best basketball team we can, there's the physical, mental, and emotional part. I think we got some of the physical parts back over the last five days. This coming week will be about recharging the mental and emotional. The last three weeks have been grueling on everybody — whether guys were prepping to play a game short-handed or were unable to practice. Coming off a road win and tasting victory going into next week will help."
The NESCAC will announce the tournament schedule on Monday, February 14, as all 11 teams will have a chance to compete for the title. The tournament is set to take place over the next two weekends.
