MIDDLETOWN, CT – The Williams College Ephs (17-4, 5-3 NESCAC) fell to the Wesleyan College Cardinals (24-3, 9-1 NESCAC) in overtime by a score of 78-75 in a tightly-contested conference championship game. The game featured 20 lead changes from each side and 16 ties. The Ephs had a chance at the end of regulation but could not get a final shot to fall, and the Cardinals shot 4-5 in the extra period to secure the win at home. The Ephs will now return to practice and await their future from the NCAA selection committee.
"Congratulations to Wesleyan on a tremendous season and great job hosting the semifinal weekend," Eph head coach
Kevin App said after the game. "Today was a great environment and basketball game, so as a coach you can't be prouder of how we competed and put ourselves in a position to win the championship game. Basketball between two great teams comes down to a play here or a play there, and they made one more shot that we did."
Wesleyan scored on their first two possessions to take a 4-2 lead, but
Jovan Jones made the first pivotal play of the game with a corner three-pointer to put the Ephs up 7-4. A subsequent Jones steal led to a
Cole Prowitt-Smith euro step and score.
Williams exchanged their entire first unit for a fresh lineup of players 5 minutes into the game, and
Brandon Roughley scored his two attempts for an 13-9 Williams advantage. After Wesleyan tied the game at 14,
Nate Karren followed a Prowitt-Smith miss to retake the lead.
Declan Porter matched five points from Antone Walker with consecutive inside shots, and the Cardinals took a timeout leading 20-19 with 9:12 to go in the first half.
Alex Stoddard took the lead for the Ephs as he made his first look from downtown on the afternoon, but a Cardinals three-point-play kept the differential at 1. The score stayed within 2 for the remainder of the half, and the Ephs held a slim 31-29 edge at the break.
An extremely competitive first period saw 6 ties and 10 lead changes. The Ephs shot (14-30) 47% from the field, while the Cardinals went 13-32 (41%). Both teams struggled from deep, with each shooting 2-9 (22%). No player eclipsed 7 points as each team sported a balanced attack on the offensive end. Roughley, Porter, and Karren each had 6 for the Ephs.
The opening minutes of the second half featured physical basketball and several fouls. Williams quickly erased a 3-point deficit to go up 37-36 when Porter bodied his way into the paint, but the Cardinals hit the first three-pointer of the half and completed an and-one to go up 44-39.
Just as the Cardinals took a 7-point lead and had the ball with a chance to make it a double-digit advantage,
Brandon Arnold took a steal coast-to-coast to halt an 8-0 Cardinals run. The play completely turned the tide for the Ephs, and just a few minutes later a pair of
Spencer Spivy free throws took a 47-46 lead for Williams with 10:19 to play. The Cardinals also entered a 4-minute scoring drought following Arnold's steal.
The Williams run stopped at 9-0, when the Cardinals scored two consecutive baskets to take a 50-48 lead with 9:06 remaining.
Evan Glatzer, however, knocked down a shot from deep after a Williams timeout to give the Ephs a 2-point edge. After Arnold beat his man for a hook shot, the Cardinals tied the game at 53 with 7:34 left in the championship.
With the Ephs holding a 1-point lead, Wesleyan embarked on a possession where they came away empty handed despite creating four chances to score through offensive rebounds and loose balls. Still, they took a 57-56 lead with 4:59 to go. A three-pointer from the Cardinals forced an Ephs timeout down 5 with 3:38 left.
The Ephs responded under pressure immediately, as Karren found a lane to complete an and-one. Prowitt-Smith calmly hit a midrange jumper from the free-throw line to tie the game at 61 with 2:47 remaining. Wesleyan sunk two free throws on the next possession, but Karren buried his first three-pointer of the day at a critical time as the Ephs took a 64-63 lead with 1:57 to play. After both teams came up short on offense, the Ephs secured a loose ball and called a timeout up 1 with 55 seconds left. The inbounds pass went out of bounds, however, and Wesleyan took over with 53 seconds to go.
Wesleyan picked up a foul and went to the charity stripe needing 1 make to tie, and 2 to take the lead. The first shot was off and the second one good, so the Ephs took over with 38 seconds left and a tied ballgame. Despite an offensive rebound, Spivy's shot from well beyond the arc was off and the teams got set to play an additional 5 minutes.
Prowitt-Smith followed a miss to put the Ephs up 2 to begin the overtime period, but Williams was unable to capitalize on a stop and Wesleyan scored 5 straight points to go up 69-66. Karren answered back as he battled to the rim in a must-score possession for Williams cutting the deficit to 1. The next time down the floor, he used a spin move to create space to put the Ephs up 70-69.
Wesleyan, however, scored two baskets in a row to take a 75-72 lead and Williams would inbound with 30 seconds to go in overtime. The Ephs came up short on their two following tries and could not complete a last-second comeback.
"This is what you hope for as a league and as institution," App continued. "You hope that two teams leave it all out there and compete until the end. That's why our guys come to Williams — it's what they've been waiting for and why they've taken time off. The highs and the lows of this season are for moments and days like this. You hope it ends in a championship, but if you compete and put yourself in a position to win, you have to be proud."
Williams shot 31-66 (47%) to Wesleyan's 29-64 (45%) and both teams shot under 26% from long range. Each team took over the lead 20 times in the tight contest.
Karren led the Ephs on the day with 19 points, while Prowitt-Smith netted 15 points. Both players had 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Jordan James and Preston Maccoux had 18 a piece for the Cardinals.
The focus for Williams will now shift to a potential NCAA Tournament bid. "The NESCAC chapter of the season is over now. We'll let this one hurt for a little bit and get on the bus and put it behind us. We'll learn from it like we do every game and go from there. Hopefully we get good news tomorrow. [The NCAA Tournament] would be a new experience for a lot of guys on our team, but hopefully we've put ourselves in position for another big game down the road."
WATCH NCAA DIII Men's Basketball Selection Show Live Online Feb. 28, 2022 at 12:30 PM
