WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Williams men's basketball cruised to an 89-67 win in its first game of the season at home against the SUNY Morrisville Mustangs. The Ephs built an eight-point lead by halftime and were able to extend that advantage in a steady second half to send the crowd home happy on Saturday afternoon.
The Ephs jumped all over the Mustangs right at the game's outset. First, sophomore forward
Jackson Rein found
Hudson Hansen inside. Hansen was fouled and nailed two free throws to put Williams on the board first.
Then, point guard
Onyeraluobu Chibuogwu drove and kicked outside to Rein on the left wing, two feet behind the three-point line, and Rein drained his first three-pointer of the season. On the ensuing offensive possession, Hansen converted a contorting righty layup to put Williams ahead 7-0, then he rebounded a miss and found senior guard
Alex Lee, who swished a mid-range jumper. To cap the furious spurt, Chibuogwu drove in transition and kicked to Rein, again on the left-wing, who connected on his second three-pointer to make the score 12-0 just two minutes into the game and force a Morrisville timeout.
After the Ephs' strong first few minutes, both teams settled into a grittier game for the rest of the first half.
The Ephs took a 34-26 advantage into the break, led by Rein, who hit two more threes in the first half. Rein's four first half 3s set a career high for the sophomore, and he led the team with 12 points at the half.
Rein got things started for the Ephs with a back-cut layup in the second half. A few minutes later, the Ephs forced a turnover and Lee brought the ball quickly up the court, passing to Rein on the left wing and watching as Rein hit his fifth three of the day to bring the Ephs' lead to 43-32.
Over the next few minutes, however, the Mustangs cut the Ephs' lead to just five points, at 47-42.
Aidan Yates drained a crucial three-pointer on the right wing to re-up the advantage, prompting Coach
Kevin App to take a time-out to reset the team.
Out of the timeout, the Ephs caught fire. With the Ephs ahead 50-44 and just over 12 minutes left in the game,
EJ Sommers handed the ball off to Chibuogwu, set him a screen, and popped to the top of the key. Chibuogwu drove and passed out to Sommers, and the big man's three-pointer bounced high into the air before dropping through the net to give the Ephs a 53-44 lead. On the next offensive possession, Yates forced a foul and finished through the contact, extending the lead to 56-44.
After a Mustangs bucket, Lee drove and kicked outside to Sommers, who held his follow through as he drained a right-wing three to put Williams ahead, 59-46. Sommers then brought the ball up the court after a Mustangs miss and handed off to
Alex Lee, whose three-pointer brought the game to 62-46 and forced a Morrisville time-out with 10:01 to play. Out of the time-out, Williams got a stop, then Rein found a cutting
Justin Belcher, who dished beautifully to Sommers, who completed a layup and the foul to bring the lead to 65-46 and punctuate a 15-2 Williams run. Sommers, in his first collegiate game, contributed nine points and an assist in the run.
After that critical stretch, the Ephs held their lead in the comfortable double digits for the rest of the game, never letting it dip below 14 points.
With under five minutes to play, Chibuogwu had a nice sequence. First, he executed a perfect give-and-go with Rein to finish a righty layup and put the Ephs ahead 75-56. Then, he dropped his defender with a gorgeous crossover/spin-move combo, driving right and finishing a high-arcing layup through contact. His and-one put the Ephs ahead 78-56 with four minutes to play and capped a dominant second half, as the team would coast to a smooth 89-67 win.
Several players had career highs in the victory. Rein finished with 19 points and five threes, both career bests. Chibuogwu played a steady point guard all day and finished with nine points, seven assists, and no turnovers – all career bests. Sophomore guard Dylan Shepard provided steady play off of the bench, and his eight points and four rebounds were also career highs.
The team's senior leaders performed admirably as well. Hansen added 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocks, finishing perfect from the field. Lee finished with 12 points, while Sommers joined his teammates in double figures, with 11.
Next up for the Ephs comes a matchup with Alfred University. Tip-off is at 3 p.m., tomorrow, in Chandler Gym.
