Clinton, NY.— Hamilton (18-5, 6-3) played a very physical first half, scoring most of their points going downhill. With the exception of one pick-and-pop three, the Continentals played at a faster pace than Williams (15-8, 4-5) would have preferred, attacking the lane on possession after possession.
Hank Morgan, who averages over 22 points a game for the Continentals, played a big role in setting Hamilton's tone. He's scored only about 20% of his nearly 500 points this season from behind the arc, showing a clear preference for attacking the paint, as he did so today.
Morgan played as his reputation would suggest, getting into double digits after just nine minutes, and scoring or assisting on 18 of Hamilton's 34 points in the half.
The Continentals played aggressively on the other side of the ball, too. While they did rack up eight fouls, it seemed to be a worthwhile compromise holding the Ephs to just 21 first half points.
Alex Lee largely kept Williams in the game. He responded to Morgan's first layup with one of his own, assisted by
Hudson Hansen, and then with a three to take what would be the Ephs' only lead of the game, 5-4.
After Lee's third bucket, other Ephs started to get involved.
Jackson Rein scored driving to the hoop.
Brandon Roughley made both shots at the line.
Aidan Yates sank a triple from the left wing, assisted by
Hudson Hansen.
Despite the Ephs' best efforts, the Continentals gradually pulled away, due to their aggressiveness on both sides of the ball. With Garret Keyhani's three at 4:12— the Continentals' only of the half— Hamilton took a double-digit lead, 28-18.
At the buzzer, it was 34-21. While Hank Morgan had gotten involved a good portion of the Continentals' points, other Hamilton players got on the board, too. Garret Keyhani had 8, and Matthew Rideout connected on three tough mid range looks to help bolster the Hamilton lead.
It seemed to be the physicality that tripped the Ephs up, as the Continentals kept the Ephs to just 26% shooting in the half. When Williams would drive, it seemed as if there was always a Hamilton player just waiting to seal off the paint, and when the Ephs rose up to score, the Continentals did too, contesting each and every shot.
The rebounding battle was also fairly one sided. The Continentals picked up 22 rebounds to the Ephs' 8 in the first half, allowing them to get a number of second chance looks.
In the second half, trailing by 13 points, the Ephs would have to make a move, like they did last Saturday in their win over Bowdoin. Unfortunately, the Continentals didn't run out of gas as the Polar Bears had. Hamilton continued to contain the Ephs on the defensive end— Williams had just 9 points in the first ten minutes of the second half.
The offense that the Continentals played was even more impressive. They made both easy shots, finishing assisted buckets under the hoop, and tough ones, connecting on step-backs, fade aways, and pull-ups. It made you think that if Hamilton had played this way in their game against yet undefeated Wesleyan, there may have been a different result.
By the ten minute mark, the Ephs were down over twenty points. They played their best basketball in these final ten minutes, putting 20 points on the board, but it just wasn't enough to make things close. The Continentals stayed even, putting the finishing touches on this defining game for their season by scoring 19 points of their own.
"When you get down big, you just want to get some reps and play, and I thought our young guys came in, learned some things and made some aggressive plays," said Eph head coach
Kevin App. "They made some plays that we talked about making: simple drives, moving the basketball when help comes instead of getting sped up."
At the end, it was 76-50. A tough loss, that means the Ephs won't be hosting the first round of NESCAC play at home in Chandler.
Alex Lee led the Ephs with 14 points.
Hudson Hansen,
Aidan Yates, and
Justin Belcher all had 9 points. On the Continentals' side, Hank Morgan (18pts), Matthew Rideout (15pts), and Garret Keyhani (10pts) all scored in double digits.
"I don't think we responded to how aggressive and physical Hamilton came out, to their credit, and we unfortunately let it take us out of playing simply," remarked coach App after the game. "Then it got away from us, and they got the momentum. We have to put it behind us now."
The Ephs play next tomorrow in their final game of the regular season, against Amherst. The game is away, starting at 3pm in Amherst, Mass.
Coach App says that the game tomorrow is the team's primary focus now. They won't be thinking about the loss or the approaching NESCAC tournament. Of the latter App said: "It's one of the things I honestly, as a coach, don't think anything about. I worried about tonight, and tomorrow morning, and then playing Amherst. You find out Sunday who you're playing. If you're in it, you find out all those answers, and then you prepare from there, and take it a day at a time.
He continued, saying, "it's really not something we worry too much about. We know we can play with anybody if we play to our capabilities on both ends. I don't think I did a good job preparing them today and we didn't quite respond to the physicality, but we'll give it a go tomorrow and try to get another NESCAC win."
