Williamstown, MASS.— After some struggles adjusting to Wesleyan's (9-0) physical defense, Williams (6-2) came out with more intensity in the second half, aiming to even the score. After the first half, the score stood at 29-14 Wesleyan, a testament to the Cardinals' physical defense.
However, the atmosphere of the second half was different from the first play.
Brandon Roughley stole the ball from today's high-scorer Jackson Cormier, taking the ball himself and scoring in the paint. The Ephs got another stop and this time
Hudson Hansen drove, finishing his layup despite a lot of contact on the torso.
The Cardinals' defense was very physical, racking up 19 fouls over the course of the game but keeping the Ephs from getting to the basket. This style seemed to bother the Ephs in the first half, but Hansen's layup showed that it would no longer have the same effect.
After yet another stop,
Noah Dinkins spun into the lane and was fouled. He made both and in a matter of minutes the gap had gotten six points thinner. Shane Regan finally got something going for the Cardinals, connecting from behind the arc.
The Ephs seemed unfazed, continuing to drive to the cup.
Sammy Cooley put up Williams' next points, finishing with a scoop on the left. Not only were the Ephs more comfortable with taking the ball inside, but their hustle had stepped up too, and they picked up 7 offensive boards in the second half vs. 4 in the first.
One of these offensive rebounds was tallied by
Aidan Yates, who passed it to
Evan Glatzer, who then made the extra pass to
Alex Lee for a corner triple. 32-25. Maybe Wesleyan had been surprised by the Ephs' refocused intensity, but they soon fell into a rhythm of their own.
In the next seven minutes, the Cardinals went on a 15-5 run, returning their lead to how it had looked after the first half. Even though the Ephs ended up winning the second half, it was too little too late.
The Ephs felt the pressure of the clock, and had a hard time executing on their principles. "We weren't really doing what we were supposed to be doing," said Eph head coach
Kevin App. "I thought we got tunnel vision and started trying to do it ourselves, instead of pass, cut, move the basketball like we had been doing really well throughout the season so far."
Though Williams had gotten as close as seven, the final score was 57-45 Wesleyan. The first half was much more difficult for the Ephs, especially on the offensive end.
Williams only tallied 14 points in the half, and these 14 were hard-fought, with 6 coming from long range and the other 8 around the basket. coach App chalked these difficulties up to Wesleyan's defensive style of play.
"They were being physical, that's what they do," he said. "I thought New Paltz was physical with us, and we responded really well. Today we did not at all. So that would be our learning curve."
He continued, touching on what differentiated the second half from the first: "We played. We played with some physicality. We kind of got punked a little bit, we didn't respond well and that's disappointing. But you can tell their game plan— it's Wesleyan's game plan."
"I thought our veterans, who played them seven times, would have known, but we just didn't quite have it in the first half," he noted. "I was proud of how we played in the second half. We came out and competed, gave ourselves a chance a couple of times, but they're a good team. They're 9-0 for a reason— they made the plays when they needed to and kept our runs at bay."
The Ephs have a pause in their schedule for winter break. Their next game will come at the end of the month, against Kenyon College as part of the NYU Holiday Tournament. The game will take place on the 29th at 3pm, at NYU in New York City.
