MIDDLETOWN, CT – Just under 52 weeks ago, the Ephs departed Middletown following an overtime loss in the NESCAC championship game. Almost a year later, they played a high brand of basketball to defeat Cardinals (14-8, 5-3 NESCAC) 80-62 in commanding fashion on the road. The game was even for the first 15 minutes of action, but Williams closed the half on a 10-0 run over the final 2:32 to take a nine-point lead into the locker room. The Ephs (19-3, 6-3 NESCAC) would then start the second period on a 7-0 run to open up a 16-point cushion, and they maintained a double-digit advantage for almost the entirety of the remaining minutes. With the win, the Ephs claim an outright Little Three win.
"It feels great," Eph head coach
Kevin App said, reflecting on the 2-0 weekend. "Anytime you get a sweep in this league it's a big deal, and to do it on the road against two well-coached teams — I'm super proud of the guys. To be the Little Three outright winner for the second time in three seasons — after going a decade not winning — feels great. It's one of our goals every year, and we came out and competed to get it done today."
The Ephs trailed by as many as eight points in the beginning of the contest but used a combination of toughness inside and perimeter shooting to get their offense into gear. As usual, consistent defense was critical in denying Wesleyan the ability to crawl back into the game once a lead had been established. A notable difference in the stat sheet came in three-point shooting: the Ephs went 9-18 from deep, while Wesleyan shot 4-25. Additionally, the Ephs made 15-19 attempts from the free throw line, while the Cardinals hit 4-6 tries.
Nate Karren posted up his defender for the first basket of the afternoon, but Wesleyan scored the next nine points. A crucial block from
Spencer Spivy halted the Cardinals' momentum, as he took his deflection coast-to-coast to make the score 9-4.
Alex Lee would then lob the ball inside to Karren, who went over his defender to trim the lead to five. After a Cardinals' three-pointer, Lee dropped his man to get inside for an open layup. Fellow first-year standout
Hudson Hansen subsequently used his length to go over his man and the Ephs found themselves down just 14-10.
"Alex and Hudson play with such infectious energy on both ends — they just fly around," App said of the first-year combo. "It's fun to watch their confidence grow. They're both being rewarded, like the team, with production."
With 10:48 to go in the half,
Brandon Arnold checked into the game to mark his return to play. While he did not score in his first rotation, his intangible talents were on full display — the Ephs allowed just one basket on defense and he opened up spacing on the perimeter.
Cole Prowitt-Smith, playing to his strengths, sunk an unguardable fadeaway followed up by a three-pointer on the next possession to put the Ephs up 17-16 with 10:11 left in the half.
The Cardinals called a timeout to reset, but
Evan Glatzer was quick to steal the ball on the first Cardinals' possession back.
Solid playmaking form the Ephs saw a pass across the width of the court land in Prowitt-Smith's hands, which he immediately tossed to Spivy for an open trey. Spivy, of course, buried it for a five-point Ephs' edge. Wesleyan would not go away, however, and a quick 8-0 run gave them a 24-21 lead with 8:08 remaining in the half.
Karren's hook shots earned the Ephs six points in a row, as he continued to resort to a move for which Wesleyan had no answers. A triple from the big man gave the Ephs a 30-27 lead, as Karren gave a look back to the Wesleyan bench that attempted to get in his head.
Lee then cashed a three-pointer from the corner to begin a 10-0 run for the Ephs to close out the half. The possession after Lee's make, Glatzer bodied his way into the paint with his offensive confidence on full display to give Williams a 35-31 lead with 1:44 to go in the period.
The Ephs forced a turnover from Wesleyan on a pass out of bounds with 54 seconds left in the half as the Ephs attempted to go 2 for 1. Prowitt-Smith drew contact on the first and went 1-2 from the line, and a quick stop gave the Ephs 24 seconds to get another basket. Prowitt-Smith stepped up to the task again, calmly drilling a three-pointer from the top of the arc to put the Ephs up 40-31 at the break.
Karren led the Ephs with 13 points in the half on 6-8 shooting, while Prowitt-Smith netted 10 in the first 20 minutes.
Wesleyan double-teamed Karren when he received the ball on the first possession of the second half, to which he promptly dished the rock to Porter, who cashed in his first make of the game from deep. Spivy went to work next, running through the defense for a layup as the intensity ramped up. On the following play, Karren took it to the hole to put Williams up 47-31 less than two minutes into the second half.
Wesleyan made a few baskets the half to trim the deficit to 10, but a Glatzer fadeaway to beat the shot-clock buzzer made the score 51-39 with 14:11 left.
As the Cardinals tried to save the ball from going out of bounds, Hansen used the entirety of his wingspan to intercept the ball and regain possession for the Ephs. Lee converted the recovery into points on the offensive end. The basket seemed to light a spark, as Prowitt-Smith hit a three-pointer to increase the Williams lead to 13.
Prowitt-Smith, hooping with conviction on Saturday afternoon, spun his defender around and dropped in two points for the Ephs. On the next chance, he dished a dime to Karren, who drained his second three-pointer of the day.
The Cardinals brought the deficit into single digits with under eight minutes remaining, but Spivy hit two from the charity stripe for a 63-52 Williams advantage. Prowitt-Smith then would draw a shooting foul with one second left on the shot clock to put the Ephs up 13 with 5:50 to go. A high IQ play from Karren took advantage of a double team and found a wide-open Glatzer for a layup — Wesleyan fouled him on the shot, and his and-one made it 68-52 with five minutes to play.
"When we're playing with that confident and connected mindset, it looks like energy and toughness on defense and moving the basketball to get great shots on offense," App said. "As coaches, we're proud that we did both of those things for 80 minutes this weekend. Just like Trinity, Wesleyan has great players and made great shots. Our guys kept at it and found a run to put the game away."
Another brilliant cut from Glatzer on the next possession positioned the Ephs in good standing to close out the game, but they needed to stay locked in, as Wesleyan had 3:47 to overcome a 14-point deficit.
Spivy made things more difficult for the Cardinals as he sunk a trey to go up 17, and the Cardinals resorted to playing the foul game. Williams went 5-6 from the line, before Spivy escaped pressure to put Williams up 80-20 with 1:58 remaining.
The Ephs would proceed to hold on for an 18-point victory.
Nate Karren had 20 points in the win, and he was joined by four other Ephs in double figures: Prowitt-Smith netted 17 and Spivy notched 16, while Lee and Glatzer contributed 11 a piece.
"This is the time of year where you have all your goals and are trying to put yourself in the best position to accomplish them. This weekend was a big step after losing a couple games at home. We have to close out our non-conference schedule and then get ready for another strong NESCAC team on the road. We'll enjoy this weekend and the Little Three championship, and then get back to it."
