Box Score Williamstown, MASS.— Williams (11-3, 2-0 NESCAC) and Hamilton (6-7, 1-1 NESCAC) were tied up with 6:30 to play this afternoon, 54 apiece. Hamilton's Hank Morgan, who had scored the last 4 points for the Continentals, banked one in to bring Hamilton up to 56.
On the next play,
Nate Karren passed the ball to
Brandon Roughley, who went up for the layup. The whistle sounded late, and Roughley scored two at the line. After a defensive stop, Roughley stepped up again, spinning off his right shoulder for a layup.
The Continentals kept focused, converting on a floater in the lane and a kick-out three to take the lead back. The Ephs took a full timeout, but when they came back in things kept getting worse. A foul and bonus shots gave Hamilton a five point lead.
If the Ephs wanted to win, they had to take the game back — and
Cole Prowitt-Smith got started right away. Cutting through the paint on the fast break, Prowitt-Smith layed the ball up and in with his left hand.
A miscommunication on the other end led to a turnover, and
Nate Karren sent the ball to
Alex Stoddard for three. Suddenly it was 63 all, and the Ephs found themselves with a defensive challenge similar to yesterday's finish against Amherst.
The next two plays showed who wanted the win more. First, the Ephs got in position and took a charge as the Continentals tried to body into the paint. The Ephs took the ball up the court. Roughley passed out to Karren, who sent it right back with a touch pass. Roughley went up and was fouled. At the line he made one, giving the Ephs a one point lead.
In the final two minutes, both teams got good looks, but the defenses were locked in. Hamilton missed a hook shot, Williams had trouble getting it to fall in the lane. The Continentals whiffed an open look from behind the arc, Karren's jumper was a bit too short.
With 21 seconds left, Hamilton had to score. They couldn't get into the paint, and had to settle for a jumper. In the scuffle for the board, the ball went out of bounds off a Hamilton player. The Ephs took care of the ball for the last seven seconds and walked away with the 64-63 win.
Nate Karren led the Ephs with 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 2 blocks. He provided the leadership that this afternoon's depleted team needed. Eph head coach
Kevin App gave Karren props after the game: "Nate is so important for how we play. He's leading us in assists. So much happens with his ability to pass the basketball and get his teammates open. He spends half the week in a boot and then guts it out for us."
Karren himself spoke about stepping up tonight, saying "I'm a senior— I've kind of seen it all. So really my deal is just doing whatever we need to win the game that given day. If that's rebounding, passing, scoring, whatever it may be. So just having those conversations with coach, making sure we're all aligned, and adjusting to what the defense has given us. If we walk away with the win, I'm happy."
The first half was fiercely competitive, too. Hamilton played a very physical style, and their strong presence on the boards led to more shots and a higher shooting percentage. However, this physical style created a lot of fouls: fifteen of the Ephs' 31 points in the half came from the stripe.
Senior guard
Dan Lee stepped up to put some wind in Williams' sails. In eight minutes, he finished an and-one layup and buried a three. Lee's spark got the rest of the team going. Though scoring was still tough,
Cole Prowitt-Smith added on four with a layup and a jumper, and
Noah Dinkins tied the game up at the half with an and-one of his own.
The second half was neck-and-neck all the way through. It was also the second half when
Nate Karren really stepped up. He started the half's scoring off with a jumper and a layup, and had another shot in the paint as well as two threes to round out his twenty point afternoon. His second three brings us to the tie with 6:30 remaining.
The final minutes of the game were gritty, and it was up to the Ephs to take the win in their hands. Coach App gave credit to Hamilton in revealing this fact: "Coach Stockwell does a great job. I mean, they won the league last year, and won the league tournament. Hamilton never beats themselves. So you have to get the ball moving, make some cuts and make some shots. And I thought our defense, our one on one defense, was as good as it's been."
Highlighting defense: In the last four minutes of play, Hamilton missed all four of their looks, committed two fouls, and turned the ball over twice. It doesn't get much better than that. The Ephs were able to defend their one point lead and took the game 64-63.
The Ephs will play next on Friday at 7pm, away at Colby in Waterville, Maine.
