WILLIAMSTOWN, MA – The Williams College Ephs (16-3, 5-3 NESCAC) escaped with an electrifying 70-66 win in the NESCAC quarterfinals over rival Amherst (15-9, 5-5 NESCAC) in a packed Chandler Gym on Saturday afternoon. While the Ephs never trailed after the opening minutes, Amherst stayed close the whole way and forced Williams to make plays under pressure in the closing minutes. Eighteen second-half points from
Cole Prowitt-Smith led the way for the Ephs down the stretch, but the team needed help from every player to bring home the victory.
Speaking on his performance and the team's depth, Prowitt-Smith said, "I was so happy to be able to get it going, and I'm so grateful to my teammates and coaches that they trust me to step up down the stretch — but every guy 1-16 contributed today.
Nate Karren has been so amazing this year, and
Declan Porter had huge three-pointers in the first half.
Evan Glatzer also made big plays as a freshman. This group is just so close, and we all really trust each other."
After the Mammoths came up short on a game-tying attempt with 4 seconds left, Karren sealed the win with two free throws on the other end. In the first game since November with all vaccinated fans allowed and a full house, he savored the opportunity to play in an intense environment. Speaking after the game, he said, "Today was kind of our first experience in the playoffs as a team, so we just wanted to come out and have fun in front of a home crowd that was as full as we've seen it in a long time. They gave us a lot of energy."
A competitive first half began when
Spencer Spivy dished an offensive rebound to
Declan Porter, who buried a trey to give the Ephs their first lead of the game at 6-4 3:09 into the contest. After a Porter miss a couple possessions later, Karren tipped in the rebound for a 10-4 advantage. Amherst took a timeout with 15:44 to play in the first half.
The Mammoths hung around after facing a 7-point hole, and C.J. Mitchell matched an
Alex Stoddard triple to make the score 14-11. The Ephs, however, went on a 7-0 run when Porter nailed his second long ball of the game to put the Ephs up 21-11 with 8:57 left in the first.
Karren showed his versatility hitting back-to-back deep balls — standing at 6' 9", he shoots 53% from deep on the year. "We had a lot of time to put in work on our individual games [over the last year]," he commented. "I didn't shoot the ball great my freshman year, but that's always been a big aspect of my game coming up, so I really wanted to improve that facet. It opens up spacing for us and allows other guys the opportunity to get into the paint — I'm glad I could be helping the team."
As the Ephs looked to open up a big lead, the Mammoths quickly made an 11-point hole just 2. Just when it appeared Amherst would tie the game at 27, however,
Alex Stoddard swatted a fast break attempt and found a lane on the other end for a cutting layup.
Another Karren basket put the Ephs up 31-25 with 2:23 to go, and Williams would take a slim 31-27 lead into halftime. Both teams secured a bundle of offensive rebounds in the first period, but a key difference came in the capitalization of these opportunities: the Ephs had 8 second chance off 7 offensive rebounds, while the Mammoths scored just 2 despite 5 chances.
Comparable shooting in the period saw the Ephs knock down 13-31 (39%) chances from the floor, while Amherst went 11-29 (38%). Karren led all scorers with 13 points on 5-7 shooting, and
Spencer Spivy grabbed 6 rebounds at the break. Mitchell and Tim McCarthy each had 5 for Amherst.
Following a few tough misses in the first half, Spivy finished a critical and-one to push the Ephs lead to 38-29. Karren cashed in his third from deep in as many attempts for a double-digit lead, but the Mammoths hit two three-pointers of their own to make the score 42-37 with 15:05 remaining.
Evan Glatzer maintained the Williams lead as he found his way to two layups, and
Cole Prowitt-Smith knocked down a trey for a 49-39 lead with 9:43 left. Following an Amherst timeout, the sophomore buried another three-pointer for a 13-point differential.
In keeping with the flow of the game, Amherst trimmed the gap to just 53-52 with 5:37 left thanks to a 13-1 run on the back of two McCarthy three-pointers.
"They just stuck with it," Eph head coach
Kevin App said. "We haven't practiced much or played many games the last month, and this was the first really close game since the last time we played Amherst."
Several scoreless possessions saw the Ephs continue to hold just a 1-point edge, until Prowitt-Smith kissed in a layup with 3:29 left. Amherst, however, answered back immediately to keep the lead at 1.
Out of a timeout, Porter dropped in two free throws after getting fouled away from the ball for a 57-54 lead. After the Mammoths split a pair from the line, Prowitt-Smith drove and finished to make it a two-possession game.
The Mammoths proceeded to come up short on two free throws with under 2 minutes remaining, and Prowitt-Smith knocked down two attempts of his own. Amherst netted a quick layup and called timeout trailing 61-57 with 1:12 left.
Eventually, the Ephs got a critical defensive stop and simply needed to make their free throws, as they held a 7-point edge with under a minute. A few misses from the line allowed Amherst an unforeseen chance to tie at the end, but Williams took home the victory on their home court.
"You can't simulate those free throws at the end to close out your rival," App said. "They stepped up and made it happen."
App had high praise for his team, commented, "this is one of those games days where everything that this group has been through — taking time off, working out without knowing when games would happen, going into isolation — was for games like today," he said. "I'm glad we could enjoy the game and the crowd, and really leave it all out there. To have it happen against Amherst, who has extremely talented senior guard who have given us a lot of disappointment — I'm just super proud of them."
The Ephs shot 22-53 (42%) for the game, and Amherst went 25-64 (39%). Prowitt-Smith and Karren had 20 and 18 points, respectively. Three Mammoths reached double figures, as McCarthy had a high of 14 for the visitors.
"We've had a bunch of really good runs throughout this season, and I feel like we're getting on one again," Karren continued. "We're finding our stride as a team, and we'll just look to keep improving going forward"
"We're just so excited to be back on the court together," Prowitt-Smith echoed. "Every opportunity we cherish, and I think the sky's the limit with this group. We're not going to take any moment for granted."
