Brunswick, ME.— This afternoon's game started out as a tough defensive battle. After ten minutes, the score was just 11-5. Both teams were playing tough defense, but they were also probably feeling some fatigue from last night's games. Williams (13-3, 4-0 NESCAC) managed to pull away from Bowdoin (6-11, 0-4 NESCAC) before halftime, going on a 21-13 run to bring the score to 32-18 at the buzzer.
At the beginning,
Brandon Roughley pivoted into the Ephs' first points, scoring with a hook. The Polar Bears got their offense started on the other end with a fadeaway for Michael Simonds. The Ephs worked for their next six points in the paint.
Alex Lee,
Noah Dinkins, and
Sammy Cooley all finished tough shots in the lane.
Cooley brought the Ephs to 11 with a three, while Bowdoin added to their scoring from the line. For the last ten minutes of the half, both teams found their rhythm, but Williams' defense stayed strong.
The Ephs were able to generate scoring from a number of spots, scoring five at the line, ten in the paint, and six from behind the arc to round out the half. The bright spot for the Polar Bears was Simonds, who had eight unassisted points in the half.
The score at the halfway point was 32-18, a testament to the Ephs' strong defense. Eph head coach
Kevin App touched on the team's defensive success.
"We were trying to key in on certain personnel," App said. "I thought our guys really played with tremendous effort, got through screens, and didn't give their shooters much space, so we made it difficult on that front. They got going last night and cut a Middlebury lead, so we wanted to focus in. Unfortunately, Jim McGowan didn't play too much, [one of Bowdoin's leading scorers] but I thought we really keyed into the scouting report and personnel on their end."
In the second half, Bowdoin's other players started to get involved. They pulled down an offensive rebound and finished it for the first points of the half, and less than a minute later sank a three.
However, Williams brought the same energy that they had in the decisive win yesterday.
Alex Stoddard responded with a pair of free throws and a three, and
Nate Karren drained a three of his own.
Simonds started to get involved again, scoring a quick six points with another fadeaway and two layups off the window. The Ephs responded with twelve unanswered points, punishing the Polar Bears after turnovers.
Unlike in previous games, it wasn't a single player leading the charge. Four Ephs scored in double digits (
Alex Lee,
Nate Karren,
Alex Stoddard, and
Sammy Cooley), and ten Ephs scored.
Coach App singled out this team effort. "I think just being down a lot of bodies right now, guys are just playing, and there's no more 'Where do I fit in?' or 'What's my role going to be?' said App. "It's all hands on deck right now, and guys are coming out and playing together with a lot of confidence.
Noah Dinkins,
Sammy Cooley,
Dan Lee were awesome today and really gave us a boost off the bench. And like I said yesterday, our veterans—
Nate Karren,
Brandon Arnold,
Alex Stoddard,
Cole Prowitt-Smith— are really setting the tone."
Back to back threes from Karren made the win decisive, and the game ended 68-43 in favor of the Ephs. Bowdoin's 43 points is 11 fewer than ttheir previous low score this season — due in large part to this Williams team's rock-solid defense.
Coming off these two strong victories this weekend, App remarked on the team's outlook. "I think every weekend in the NESCAC, if you can get a couple of wins, you learn a ton. I wasn't really happy with our rebounding today, and we'll get better because of the weekend, but ultimately, you'd like to have that confidence keep building. Guys are getting more opportunities and figuring out what's working, what doesn't work. Every weekend, hopefully, you get that confidence ball rolling a little bit and carry it into the next game."
The Ephs will play next this Wednesday, in a non-conference Little Three game against Amherst in Amherst at 7pm.
