BLOOMINGTON, ILL. – The Williams College Ephs (19-5) concluded an admirable season with a 73-59 loss to the Wabash Little Giants (27-3) on Friday evening. After a back-and-forth first half, Wabash broke open the contest with a 20-0 run in the middle of the second half that proved too significant to overcome. Although the Ephs held the Little Giants significantly under their average of 90 points, they fell short on the offensive end in shooting 2-16 from long range.
In a season that included a two-week stoppage — and the physical and mental repercussions of it — the Ephs managed to find their stride again in the NESCAC tournament to earn three games in the NCAA tournament. For App, the extra time together was all he could ask for: "I had one goal this year, and it was to make a season full of great moments and memories for especially our seniors. That's what kept me up at night during our stoppages." App paid specific props to seniors
Jovan Jones,
Michael Myers,
Marc Taylor, and
Daniel Kacmarek, who contributed not just on the court but also in veteran leadership throughout the year.
"Thank you to Illinois-Wesleyan for an incredibly professionally-run weekend of high class," he added. "I told Wabash's coach that if you aren't playing for them, those are the kind of teams you want to root for at this time of year. They have a bunch of seniors leaving it all out there and playing great basketball. Credit to them for a great run so far."
The Ephs used their size to navigate the Wabash defense on three consecutive possessions to take a 6-5 lead, but Wabash converted on second chances to hold a 7-6 at the first media timeout 4:30 into the game.
Out of the stoppage, Williams reverted to going in the paint — 12 of their first 16 points came inside. Six points from
Brandon Roughley assisted in a 10-0 run and a deep ball from
Declan Porter put the Ephs up 19-11 with 11:21 left in the half.
Just as the Ephs seemed to be finding the basket at-will, the Little Giants narrowly avoided a double-digit deficit and began an 11-2 streak to take over the lead on the back of 6 points from Jack Davidson.
Spencer Spivy's third steal of the half helped limit the damage, but Wabash hit a three-pointer as time expired to take a 32-29 advantage into the locker room.
Both teams had an identical shooting performance in the first half, going 12-29 (41%). Similarly, two programs known for their outside game underwhelmed in the period — the Ephs converted just 1-7 tries from deep, and the Little Giants sunk 3-10 attempts.
Karren beat his man in the paint to open the second half, and
Cole Prowitt-Smith hit a pair of free throws to regain the lead for Williams. The subsequent minutes saw the teams consistently trading baskets, although a three-point-play put the Little Giants up 42-39. Roughley then responded with a 4-0 run to put the Ephs ahead by 1 with just under 13 minutes to go — the final lead of the night for Williams.
While the game was shaping up as if it would come down to the wire, the Little Giants proceeded to go 6-6 en route to a 20-0 run over 4:07 of game clock. Wabash sustained a lead of around 20 for the remainder of the contest, and the Ephs struggled to make up any meaningful ground.
"We let their physicality disrupt us a little during that run," App remarked. "We had too many turnovers, and they made some good plays. We weren't able to make that shot or play to make sure the run wasn't as big as it ended up being."
Roughley led the Ephs on the night with 16 points on 7-9 shooting, while Ahmoni Jones scored 20 for the Little Giants. Wabash held slight advantages in most statistical categories, with the only major difference coming in three-point shooting numbers.
"In a week, a month, or even in 10 years, they're not going to remember losing in the Sweet Sixteen; they're going to remember hanging out in the hotel in Ohio or Illinois, the little jokes, and the friends for life," App reflected. "We're sad this journey's over, but super proud that we made it what it is."
"After a year off, we take great pride being back out there representing Williams in the NESCAC and the national level. We really appreciate all the support we've gotten through texts, emails, and people showing up to games and can't wait to do it again soon."
