Williamstown, MASS.— The Ephs started things off on a strong note, showing clearly why they were the #1 seed going into this year's NESCAC Tournament.
Nate Karren blocked the Mammoths' first shot, a layup attempt for Marc Garraud.
Though Amherst's (15-11, NESCAC #6) Charlie Randall scored the game's first points at the line, Williams (21-5, NESCAC #1) quickly took the lead. Karren, who leads the Ephs in assists, dished the ball to
Brandon Roughley for a triple. Less than a minute later,
Alex Lee passed to
Alex Stoddard for an on-the-money three.
Hudson Hansen fired up the crowd, beating Charlie Randall for positioning and finishing through contact for an and-one.
In spite of the Ephs' momentum, the Mammoths fought back. With four rotation players over 6'8", Amherst prefers to play in the paint, and they soon got it back within 2 points by asserting their physicality. The 6-2 Mammoth run was capped off by a driving dunk from Bobby Sommers. A big driver of this run was offensive rebounding, which gave Amherst second chances.
Eph senior guard
Cole Prowitt-Smith talked about how the team refocused, becoming more aggressive with rebounds. "I think they're used to using their size to their advantage," he acknowledged, "but they were playing against a bigger team like us, who's not afraid to be physical and keep them off the boards. I thought we did a really good job controlling and dictating the rebounds. In the first half, they got a couple offensive rebounds, and then we said, 'we can't let that happen throughout the rest of the game,' and made the fix."
After that momentary blip, Williams went back on the charge. It was easy to see the renewed focus, because it was on display in all aspects of the Ephs' game.
Dan Lee had a picture-perfect assist to
Brandon Roughley, drawing two defenders in before dumping it to the big man for an easy layup.
A little while later,
Sammy Cooley was left with only one option at the end of the shot clock. In a smooth motion, he rose up and sank his triple as the buzzer sounded. The teams' guards traded shots to round out the half, but shots like Cooley's exemplified the difference in poise between the two squads.
Alex Lee and
Cole Prowitt-Smith finished tough shots in the final few minutes, and the Ephs went into the break 31-21 over the Mammoths.
Prowitt-Smith claimed that the Ephs' poise originates from clear roles on the court. Discussing the end of the half, he said: "We all are really understanding of our roles and I think
Alex Lee and myself know that when it gets down in the shot clock, we know that we've got to be ready to take a shot and a couple went today, a couple didn't. But that's how it goes, and that's something we can keep improving."
Another big factor in the Ephs' 10 point lead at the half was defense— the Mammoths shot only 23% in the first half. Eph head coach
Kevin App noted that part of the defensive success had to do with the Ephs' familiarity with the Mammoths.
"I mean, playing a team for the third time, there's not too much new you're going to see this time of year," App said. "So they've seen it and they've seen what works. They came out and they were really intense. I thought they fought through screens, kept working, didn't get frustrated with foul calls and just kept playing. Like I think I said last weekend, when we're playing that intense on defense, that's us being confident, because we're not worried about who we're playing, or when we're playing. It's just that possession, working our butt off to try to get a stop."
The Ephs lagged a bit in the second half, but maintained a double digit lead for the entire period, building it to as much as 17 points. Every time Amherst would try to make a run, Williams would respond with a big-time play.
After a good looking jumper for Bobby Sommers, and then a lull in scoring for both teams,
Hudson Hansen invigorated the Ephs again with a commanding put back dunk.
Both teams got into a little foul trouble in the last 10 minutes of the game, but the Ephs made their shots from the line, comfortably maintaining their large lead. The game had a quieter finish, because the Mammoths never made a real comeback run. In the end, the Ephs prevailed 57-43 over the Mammoths, advancing to the NESCACchampionship tilt.
Brandon Roughley, who led Williams with 13 points as well as 2 assists, 2 blocks, and 2 steals, talked about the importance of winning against the Mammoths to advance.
"I mean, it means a lot to make it back to the NESCAC finals," he said, "but to beat Amherst to get there is just an unbelievable feeling. I mean, all of our games with them are always close, they're always physical, a battle. So it just feels good to get the win over them."
Looking ahead to tomorrow's championship game against Trinity or Tufts, Roughley said: "From here on out, it's take it one game at a time, execute, make good decisions and then just get the win. They're both really good teams. We've seen them in the regular season, and we'll be ready for them."
The finals matchup will take place tomorrow at noon in Chandler Gym, against Trinity (#2). More information about the NESCAC tournament can be found at:
https://nescac.com/tournaments/?id=502&path=mbbchamp
