Worcester, MASS.— Alex Lee started out Williams' (1-1) scoring with a pullup from the free throw line. Dickinson (0-2) kept it even with a layup. The teams traded buckets for the next couple of minutes, capped off by a smooth elbow jumper from Dickinson center Nate Ogbu to bring the score to 6-6. However, that would be as close as Dickinson would get for the rest of the game, as Williams' intensity on both ends widened the lead to 32 points at the end of the game. Lee led the Ephs with 14 points and Ogbu led all scorers with 19.
Ephs head coach Kevin App remarked on the team's play following last night's tough season-opener: "I thought we were a little disappointed with how we played yesterday— especially defensively. Offensively we knew we had to find our rhythm these first couple games. I thought the guys came out and played hard, played with confidence, did some things we had talked about doing, and really competed. That's everybody that got in the game, so it was good to see."
Buckets from Evan Glatzer and Nate Karren established the Ephs' lead later in the first, and Ben McGraw brought it to 12-6 with an acrobatic finish. The Red Devils wouldn't score again until there were only seven minutes left in the half, as Ogbu was fouled in the lane and went to the stripe for two.
The Red Devils had a hard time generating offense on the perimeter, so they turned more and more to their center for isolation plays. Ogbu scored 10 of Dickinson's 19 in the first half, but couldn't prevent the lead from widening to a comfortable 16 points at the break. The Ephs' Alex Stoddard sank the game's first three pointer, and additional long balls from Karren, McGraw, and Lee were instrumental to Williams' effective spacing throughout the game.
In the second, Ogbu started right where he left off with a hook shot in the paint, but Karren defended him well on the next play, stealing the ball and sending it forward to Cole Prowitt-Smith for a layup. The Red Devils showed some promise when improved penetration gave them a quick seven points, but the Ephs put the clamps back on and kept Dickinson scoreless for an astounding twelve minutes.
The final minutes of the game included layups for Matt Devine and Tyler Van Gorp, scoring their first points in a Williams jersey. In the end, eleven Ephs tallied points on the box score, exemplifying the team effort that led to today's 32 point win. On top of Alex Lee's 14 point effort, Ben McGraw added 8 points, and Alex Stoddard had 8 points and 5 boards.
"I was proud of the group today," said Coach App. "I know these back-to-backs are hard, and we do them in the NESCAC. This was the first time this group's been disappointed in the first game of the season, and they responded and showed a lot of leadership. I'm really happy to see Alex Stoddard back out there competing after not getting to last season. Some great stuff from the weekend— we'll learn a lot and face another well-coached, good team Tuesday on the road at Vassar."
The Ephs will face off against Vassar on Tuesday at 7pm, on the road in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
