Williamstown, MASS.— Williams (3-1) went into the second half with a narrow six point lead over Worcester State (1-3). Despite the Ephs playing aggressively, the Lancers kept the pressure on, getting into the lane and sinking their jumpers to stay in the game. Aaron Nkrumah led the charge for Worcester State with 17 points, and his tenacity was representative of the Lancers' drive all night. However, the Ephs stayed composed and made their layups (62% for 2), finishing out the game strong, 69-62.
On the Ephs' remarkable composure under pressure, Eph head coach
Kevin App said: "I think we have a lot of guys that have won a lot of games. I thought we [stayed composed on] Tuesday, at Vassar too. They made a bunch of shots— we'd get up fifteen and they'd cut the lead to seven, but our guys kept making plays. I thought we did the same thing today, and put the team away. It's what you hope to see with the veteran group."
Williams'
Cole Prowitt-Smith started things off on a strong note with a layup driving to the bucket. Worcester St. scored for the first time about a minute later, converting on free throw attempts after a foul. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes, and the Ephs'
Brandon Roughley carried the load on offense, scoring twice in the lane and burying a three.
Pushing the pace, the Lancers took the lead with a tough pull-up jumper followed by a step-through in the lane. Williams went back up after a layup by
Brandon Arnold, assisted by Roughley. The Lancers would take the lead for the last time at 12:03 in the first, with Aaron Nkrumah draining a free throw line jumper.
After that, while Worcester St. would stay competitive, Williams held on to the lead for the rest of the night. Sophomore guard
Alex Lee played a vital role in Williams taking control of the game. He scored twelve points in seven minutes to grow the lead to eight points, making big threes and tough layups to energize the team. Lee would finish with 20 points, a new season-high after notching 19 points last Tuesday vs. Vassar.
When asked what went into this jump in offensive production, Lee said "I think it's my teammates giving me the freedom to just go out and play my game. Anytime I see a guy that I feel like I can get a shot off on and get to the rim on, my teammates and my coaches all encourage me to be aggressive, and play my way."
Coach App added, "I mean you can just see how he plays. Great pace, unflappable, just loves to hoop and compete. It's fun to watch that confidence for us as a sophomore."
Worcester State came out blazing in the second half, cutting the lead to as close as three points at 14:15. While some of this was certainly because of the Lancers' determination, another issue was a slowdown in the Ephs' offense. The three point shot was hard to come by tonight — Williams made just seven of their thirty seven tries from behind the arc.
But the Eph defense stayed strong: the Lancers had twice as many makes as misses in these first six minutes. "That's kind of the difference between our veteran team and young teams," said App on the defensive steadiness. "Sometimes our defense can be influenced by our offense and we don't want to be that way. I thought the guys kept at it and kept competing. We weren't perfect and we made a bunch of mistakes, but that's what this time of year is for."
The Ephs got the offensive engine going again, and when the Lancers had to foul with time running down, Williams sank their bonus shots to finish out the game. The game ended 69-62 Williams.
"I knew this first week was going to be kind of a slog, and a challenge," said Coach App on these first four games. "WPI won twenty-something games, Worcester State won twenty-something games and the MASCAC. St. Lawrence won the Liberty League. St. Joseph's and Vassar are building great programs, too. We'll put this one behind us, see what we've got tomorrow, and go from there."
Williams will play he winner of Saint Joseph's University vs. St. Lawrence University tomorrow for the championship game, at 3PM in Chandler Gym.
