Williamstown, MASS.— With just under nine minutes left,
Alex Lee sank a top-of-the-key triple to put the Ephs up by two, 36-34. On the other end, the Bantams' Henry Vetter responded with a three of his own, taking back the lead by a point. Trinity (26-1, NESCAC #2) called for a full time out.
Coming out of the huddle, Trinity kept the pressure on, going up five points by adding a layup and two free throws. Williams' (21-6, NESCAC #1)
Brandon Roughley turned over his right shoulder, and dropped in a picture-perfect hook shot to narrow the deficit.
Trinity shot right back up, using their size to dominate the boards. Ben Callahan-Gold pulled down an offensive board and finished the put back for two. Dana Smith, who led all scorers with 19, got another layup off a series of offensive rebounds.
Undeterred by Trinity's momentum,
Alex Stoddard began a determined push to keep the Ephs in the game. Just ten seconds after Smith's layup,
Brandon Roughley dished to Stoddard for an incredible quick-release three. 45-41 Bantams with five minutes left.
Dana Smith was given a late foul call at the other basket, and he made both shots. For the Ephs this time, it was
Hudson Hansen tallying the assist, as Stoddard buried another on-the-money triple.
Unfortunately, the game started to slip from the Ephs' grasp. Callahan-Gold had a free throw. The Ephs couldn't convert on the next two possessions, despite nice looks at three. Henry Vetter buried one from beyond the arc. The Ephs turned it over. Vetter continued his push with a layup.
Dana Smith would score two more before Williams scored its next bucket.
Alex Lee had a sweet pull up jumper, but suddenly there was only a minute to play and the gap had grown to nine points.
The Ephs began to play the foul game, and Will Dorion made 1-of-2 from the line.
Alex Stoddard continued his effort, scoring from the corner. Two more free throws for Trinity, and Stoddard scored the Ephs' last points, another three to bring the Ephs to their final total of 52 points. After one last foul shot, the game ended 59-52 in favor of the Bantams.
Alex Stoddard led Williams with 18 points and 7 boards. When asked what was going through his head in those final moments, he said: "I'm just trying to win. I knew we needed points, so I was just getting them up. My teammates were finding me. That's really all it is."
On Stoddard's performance,
Cole Prowitt-Smith added: "He's going to fight till the end. That's what he always does. He's resilient, and that's one of my best friends. To see that he played that hard until the very end, and put us in a position to get back in that game… That's who he is. That really is who he is."
Despite the tough loss, the NCAA DIII lies ahead, and the Ephs expect to receive a bid. Three of the team's seniors weighed in about the team's outlook moving forward.
"I think we've been peaking at the right time. We have all the confidence in the world right now. This [loss] doesn't change that," said
Alex Stoddard.
"We know that this isn't the end of our journey," added
Cole Prowitt-Smith, "so we're going to let this one sting a little bit, but then try to keep our heads up and look on to basketball in the future."
Nate Karren talked about the team's goal to make it to the NESCAC championship game, saying: "This was one of our big goals for the year, so we were really focused on this goal this weekend, obviously having it at home. Now we get to refresh our mindset a little bit, move on to NCAA. So we'll be looking for that going forward."
The beginning of the game looked much more solid for the Ephs. Williams won the tip, and
Brandon Roughley spun into a fade for the game's first points. It was a low scoring battle between two defensively-minded teams, and by 14:21 in the first the score was just 5-4, in favor of the Bantams.
From then on, Williams would keep Trinity scoreless for nearly five minutes, and put up nine of their own during this stretch. The Bantams punched back, going on a 12-2 run that began and ended with smooth threes for Vetter and Callahan-Gold, respectively.
The last five minutes of the first half were all Williams.
Hudson Hansen and
Sammy Cooley got to the line,
Brandon Roughley scored in the paint, and in a mirror image of the ending,
Alex Stoddard scored the final points from three. Williams led 25-17 at the half.
While the Ephs were in the game up until the final minutes, the Bantams controlled the pace all second half. Leading up to
Alex Lee's three, Trinity kept their intensity high, going on a 17-8 run.
It was a tough loss for the Ephs, something apparent in the players' faces coming out of the locker room.
"I don't think you can really put it into words," said
Cole Prowitt-Smith of the loss. "To lose a game like that, you have to tip your hats to them. This felt like their year. They had such a hot start, and we stole one from them and earned it, and I thought we matched up with them really well. But they play a really physical and tough brand of basketball. I think a couple of those plays down the stretch— offensive boards, little putbacks— those are the plays that win basketball games, and I think that's what was in their favor today."
The team is still more than satisfied with their accomplishments so far. "Right now I'm just really proud," said Eph head coach
Kevin App after the game. "I told them, this is probably one of the groups I've been most proud of, in terms of how they've stuck together, found ways to compete, and put ourselves in position to be the number one seed, win the regular season, and have a chance to compete for championship. I'm really proud. These guys have learned a lot, and you take what comes next."
Now, the team looks forward to the national tournament. The NCAA will be hosting the Men's Basketball DIII Selection show, Monday at 1 PM EST on NCAA.com
