Anika Goodhue

Box Score

Williams Wil 23-5,7-3 NESCAC

Saint Joseph (CT) USJ 29-1,18-0 Great Northeast

Williams Wil

23-5,7-3 NESCAC

Final

Mar. 04, 2023

Saint Joseph (CT) USJ

29-1,18-0 Great Northeast

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	F
Williams Wil	22	32	54
Saint Joseph (CT) USJ	44	31	75

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | 3/4/2023 10:38:00 PM

Memorable Basketball Season for Ephs Ends in NCAA Second Round

WEST HARTFORD, CT - The Williams College Ephs' (23-5) season came to a close with a 75-54 loss against the St. Joseph's Blue Jays (28-1). The Ephs trimmed a 21-point deficit to eight in the second half's early stages, but physical play from the Blue Jays helped them rebuild a double-digit lead. Ultimately, the home team pulled away in the final minutes.

Reflecting on the game, Eph head coach Kevin App said, "We came out and played well, we got some great shots early and unfortunately those didn't go in. Then, we got a little fatigued and some turnovers started to happen, which St. Joe's does a really good job with. I was really proud of the group, though. Down 22 at halftime, season on the line, you can hang your head; instead, we came out and really fought in the second half, cut it to eight, and had multiple open looks to cut it to five. We just didn't have enough to get over that hump. St. Joe's has a bunch of fifth-year guys who have built that program and have been through their own adversity. Hats off to them."

The loss concludes the careers of seniors Spencer Spivy, Ryan Moon, and David Elien.

"This day is always sad because the career ends for certain guys," said coach App. "David, Ryan, and Spencer – we can't thank them enough. They've all had different journeys, different roles. David missed a season; Spencer and Ryan took a year off. We would not be the team that we are without those three. We're going to miss them. I told them that they're stuck with me as a friend now. Our program was blessed to have them in it. Their leadership and legacy will live on through the guys that they mentored and touched. I'm super proud of them, and we would not be here without all three of them."

The Ephs opened the contest 1-5 from the field, but also held St. Joseph to an 0-4 start. Both teams missed manageable looks. A monstrous block from Nate Karren highlighted the first minutes of play, leading to an acrobatic breakaway finish for Hudson Hansen. Minutes later, it was Hansen who stuck a jumper from the left elbow to give Williams a 6-4 edge before the media timeout.

After a pair of Blue Jay free throws to tie the game, Cole Prowitt-Smith exploded to the rim for two points. The next time he got to work in isolation, Prowitt-Smith hit one of his signature fadeaway jumpers to give the Ephs a 10-8 lead. It would be the last Eph scoring advantage of the day.

In the early minutes, it appeared the Ephs were the superior team. They may have been up by a significant margin if not for a few misses on open looks. Moreover, their initial defensive sets appeared to rattle St. Joseph's.

Then things changed.

The Blue Jays quickly rallied to go up 18-10. In the process, Karren picked up his second foul of the contest. The Ephs sixth man, Evan Glatzer, also had two fouls at the midway point of the first half. Leading into the 12th minute of play, the Blue Jays had shot 11 free throws and built a 12-point lead. The Ephs, unfortunately, had yet to reach the stripe.

With 6 minutes left in the half, trailing 26-10, the Ephs finally heard a whistle, sending Noah Dinkins to the line where he made 1-2 tries. The Blue Jays played clean, effortful defense throughout the contest, impinging the Ephs' transition-centric offense. The St. Joseph's defense created 11 turnovers in the first 15 minutes.

With five minutes left in the half, Glatzer maneuvered his way into the paint for the first Ephs' field goal in eight minutes. However, the Blue Jays were not deterred. The home team kept driving hard to the cup and hit 8-8 free throws in the closing five minutes.

St. Joseph's headed to the locker room with a 44-22 lead at the half. Down one of their top players and with multiple starters in foul trouble, the Ephs could have called it a day.

Instead, they got back to work.

Karren asserted himself on the first offensive chance of the first half, sinking a trey to cut the deficit to 19. On the next possession, the first-year sparkplug, Alex Lee, took a missed shot down the floor and hit a teardrop floater.

Although the Blue Jays responded by taking a steal for a score, an Evan Glatzer layup and a Declan Porter three-pointer shrunk the gap to 14-points and forced a St. Joseph timeout.

Soon enough, triples from Karren and Porter trimmed the Blue Jays lead to just eight with 16 minutes to go.

While a few turnovers by the Ephs slowed the rumbling post-half momentum, the Purple and Gold seemed more prepared to stop the Blue Jays' halfcourt offense. Like much of the regular season, Nate Karren anchored Williams' defense, collecting two blocks and two steals in the contest.

Perhaps it was Karren's presence, or maybe it was Williams' daunting tournament pedigree (19 NCAA appearances), but the Blue Jays' had several airball misses in the second half. This was a major change from the first half, when every St. Joseph's miss seemed to dance on the rim for a moment.

Still, the Blue Jays held an 8-point lead, and after a media timeout, they began to stop the Ephs on offense more consistently. The team from Connecticut upped the ante physically on the defensive end, causing them to foul at a higher rate but also wear down the energetic Eph offense.

A vicious Jays dunk improved their lead to 12. Soon after, a steal and score made the difference 14. Several turnovers in a row from the Ephs severely hurt their chances.

With 10 minutes to go, Hudson Hansen stopped the bleeding momentarily with a steal on his own, leading to a shooting foul in transition on Alex Lee. Lee would shoot 1-2 at the line to make the score 41-54.

A consequence of the Blue Jays' aggressive defense was that they committed a significant number of fouls. In fact, they reached the double bonus mark by the midpoint of the half; the Ephs had just two by that time. Karren took advantage of the bonus in the post — drawing a reach-in foul and sinking both free throws — but another coast-to-coast steal and score for the Blue Jay brought the score to 58-43 with 9:12 remaining.

The Blue Jays maintained control during the final 9 minutes of the game despite the Ephs' early comeback efforts and held on for a 19-point win.

Two major statistical discrepancies plagued the Ephs on Saturday: turnovers and free throws. The Ephs committed 21 turnovers, leading to 29 points for the Blue Jays. The Ephs mustered just one point total off nine St. Joseph's turnovers.

From the free throw line, the Ephs made 10-21 shots. The Blue Jays sunk 32-37 attempts.

Although the loss stung, another hard-fought NCAA tournament appearance for the Ephs indicates the bright future ahead.

"You set off on these seasons and you never know what's going to happen. You have highs and lows, and this group has been through a lot. They set big goals and then they worked hard to go after them. Through it all, they supported one another and built relationships and memories — that's what it's all about. I think 14 or 15 of the guys played in the rotation throughout the year. Roles changed by the week because of injuries, and they handled everything well and kept competing. They stayed together and they finished the year 23-5. We got an NCAA tournament win without our senior leading scorer. To be a program that can do that — it's hard to be anything but proud."

(A final note from the writer: Thank you for reading along these last three basketball seasons. It was a great privilege to have a role in this wonderful community. Go Ephs — forever.)

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