Williamstown, Mass.— Though the final result of today's game was decisive, Rhode Island College (3-4) challenged Williams (5-1) early in both halves. The Anchormen pulled down the tip, and CJ Wilson sent the ball to their leading scorer Ousmane Kourouma for an easy layup.
Hudson Hansen picked up the first points for the Ephs. He was fouled driving into the middle, and made both of his shots from the stripe. Kourouma struck back with another layup, and Hansen responded with a short pull up.
Kourouma scored a third bucket with ease, making a short one of his own. However, that would be the last score for a while as both teams entered a dry spell. The Anchormen and the Ephs settled into a defensive rhythm, with the Ephs finally able to contain Kourouma, and the Anchormen solidly defending the rim.
The drought was broken by Eph first-years
Jackson Rein and
Justin Belcher. Rein pushed the pace on the fast break, getting fouled and netting himself a point at the line. He scored next for the Ephs, too, catching a kick out from Hansen and lacing a three.
Then, it was Belcher's turn, as he sparked the break with a steal and took it himself, scoring one at the line. After a solid defensive possession that culminated in an Anchormen back court violation, Belcher cut backdoor and laid the ball up and in.
Belcher's bucket put the score to 11-6, and while the Anchormen continued to assert themselves in the post, adding a tip-in and layup to bring things closer, the Ephs soon sped away.
Sammy Cooley,
Noah Dinkins,
Jackson Rein,
Alex Lee, and
Aidan Yates went 5/5 from behind the arc, efficiently leading the offensive charge for the Ephs. As reflected in these varied three point attempts, a number of Williams players contributed to the run, culminating in a 41-19 lead at the halfway point.
It looked as if the game was all but decided, but the Anchormen hadn't given up yet. This time, their attack was two-pronged, led by Kourouma and Dwayne Robinson-O'Hagan, their point guard.
Robinson-O'Hagan started out with a post entry pass, passing into Kourouma for a layup. He passed it over Kourouma's defender, and Kourouma leapt up, catching, turning, and finishing like it was nothing.
"He was definitely a player that you watch on film and think, 'Oh, this will be alright, with our size,' and then, you don't realize just how talented and athletic he really is," said Eph head coach
Kevin App after the game.
"I can't say we executed perfectly all the time," he added, "and we found out pretty late that we weren't going to have Zay Dickens available. We just wanted to have some combination of showing other bodies in the paint, and then those guys guarding him, Hud and Rough, mainly, just being really active. But to their credit, they kept executing and he's a really good player." Kourouma would end up scoring a game-high 21 points and pulling down 12 boards by the end of the game.
On the next play, Robinson-O'Hagan drove and kicked out to Isaiah Dahl for the Anchormen's first three of the game.
Noah Dinkins scored, cutting to the rim, but Rhode Island just kept the pressure on. Dahl sank another three, which Robinson-O'Hagan followed up with two layups speeding to the cup.
By now, the lead had been cut to twelve, and the two teams traded buckets twice before Rhode Island pushed forward again. Robinson-O'Hagan took the ball coast-to-coast, and laid the ball up through contact, finishing the three-point play at the line. Deyshawn Tengbeh was fouled and made both of his. The final push was Robinson-O'Hagan once more, this time with a floater.
The score was 47-40 Williams, and something had to give to put the Ephs back in the driver's seat. Coach App pointed to the team's deep bench as the deciding factor. "I thought today was a testament to our depth," he said.
"We were able to wear them out a little bit by throwing some fresh bodies and keeping our energy level high. In the second half, they really came out and played great in the first nine minutes, and we were able to weather that and wear them out again. So I think it was a testament to the guys' focus, but also our depth for sure," App added.
A number of Ephs contributed in the final stretch, widening the gap once again. The first-year duo of
Jackson Rein and
Justin Belcher started off, followed up by
Alex Lee and
Sammy Cooley. Rein had a few more, and
Brandon Roughley added one on from the line.
Hudson Hansen and
Onyeraluobu Chibuogwu cleaned up with layups, setting the final score to 76-56.
Particularly notable were the contributions of the team's first years, who struggled a bit in last Tuesday's game vs. MCLA. Coach App claimed that they hadn't "underestimated" the Trailblazers, but that they didn't quite have "the level of focus and intensity you need to have every day in this college basketball experience."
The first years added on 29 points combined, vs. 13 on Tuesday. "I thought it was a great couple days break, and I was really proud of how they competed today," App remarked. "I thought as a group, we kind of learned the same thing: a 20 point lead at halftime isn't anything. It was the same thing, keeping the focus, keeping the intensity. Overall, I was really proud of how we played and competed."
The Ephs play next this Tuesday, against New Paltz. The game will take place at 7pm in New Paltz, NY.
