Williamstown, MASS.— There were ten minutes to play, and Williams (15-7, 4-4 NESCAC) was up against a 14-point deficit. Bowdoin (11-11, 1-7) guards Ray Cuevas and Alex Halpern had just put in three triples to bring the score to 54-40.
These moments are when a team rises to or shrinks from a challenge, and the Ephs have had some trouble closing. Not today. Between Halpern's last three at 10:08 to a Bowdoin layup at 2:26, the Polar Bears didn't score a single point, and the Ephs went on a tear.
In an offensive stretch that was reminiscent of Williams' most dominant performance this year against Cobleskill, the Ephs scored bucket after bucket.
Aidan Yates, reverse layup, assisted by
Hudson Hansen. Then Hansen himself, with a hook in the lane.
Noah Dinkins, offensive board and finish.
Evan Glatzer, left open on the perimeter, receiving the kick out from Hansen and connecting. The first nine.
Glatzer— five more, first through the middle and over the big man's contest, and then off a steal, going coast-to-coast, and-one. And with that, in a matter of minutes, the 14 point lead had been cut to nothing. 54 all.
The Ephs kept pushing, and now it was the juniors' turn.
Alex Lee curled off a high screen, losing his defender with a change of direction, then rising up for the midrange. Hudson Hanson got the last four, first scoring off glass going downhill, then floating in a putback.
A 20-0 run, now with the score at 60-54 Williams. Still, the game wasn't finished. Afamdi Achufusi fought against his defender, dribbling along the right baseline, bumping, and scoring. The Polar Bears stepped it up on the other end, too, getting a key stop with just two minutes left.
Ray Cuevas tried for three. A miss, but Polar Bears center Nolan Bessire picked up the offensive board. The other sharpshooter, Alex Halpern, tried a three, again to no avail, but again it was a player in a black and white jersey that came down with the board.
Bowdoin took a full timeout. On the inbound, the Polar Bears ran a play to get Cuevas a good look in the corner… but they missed again. For the final time, Nolan Bessire got an offensive rebound, and this time, when he sent the ball to James McGowan, the three was good. 60-59 Williams.
Williams could run plays for scorers too though, and a post entry into
Hudson Hansen was all they needed. Hansen got Bessire off balance and attacked, taking one dribble before laying it in.
Cuevas did what he could to save the Polar Bears, but when Afamdi Achufusi missed the corner three with 19 seconds left, Bowdoin had to foul.
Aidan Yates, who led all scorers this afternoon with 19 points, stepped up to the line and made both.
Yates spoke about his jump in scoring recently, as he's moved into the starting lineup. "I've been hunting more shots recently, and I think I'm playing more within the offense, getting a lot of easier buckets," he said. "Earlier in the season, I was just catching and shooting, and didn't really know where my spots were, how to cut, when to cut. Now, I'm finding my cuts, scoring a few easy buckets, and that's helping me score more."
With 16 seconds left, the Polar Bears did what they could, fouling and getting to the rim for an impressive two more baskets, but they just didn't have enough time to come back, and Williams closed out the game with poise, 66-63.
The beginning of the game didn't go as well for the Ephs. Despite getting good looks at the basket, they just couldn't get them to fall, and started to get a little impatient on the offensive end.
By the end of the first half, Bowdoin led 34-24, and pushed their advantage through the beginning of the second half, eventually building a 14 point lead. However, when the Ephs found themselves down the stretch, there wasn't much the Polar Bears could do.
First year Ray Cuevas, who leads Bowdoin in scoring, was their standout today, with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Chilson and Nolan Bessire both had 10 points. For the Ephs, besides
Aidan Yates with 19 points and 7 boards,
Hudson Hansen had 14 and 6, and Glatzer had 11 and 4.
Yates, a first year, is now the team's 4th leading scorer, and he's averaging 11.8 points since the end of winter break. He said that he wasn't necessarily expecting to take on a scoring role as a first year.
"I was just hoping to impact the team, play meaningful minutes, and help the team in whatever way I can," he said. "Every time I'm out there, I'm gonna give it my all. I think that's the spark we need sometimes, just a guy who not only is going to score some points, but also I think I bring a lot of hustle and intensity getting on the floor. That's what I take pride in."
Eph head coach
Kevin App looked back to the early moments of the game, praising Yates and
Hudson Hansen for stepping up: "I thought early in the game we had a couple of stretches where we got wide open shots and they didn't go in. Then, all our bad habits came out where we started, instead of just doing that, we started forcing it. We were thinking dribble on the catch instead of shot on the catch."
"We talked a little bit about that, getting into thinking shot and pass on the catch instead of dribble. Then ultimately, a lot of times it comes down to one or two guys stepping up and making a play that lets everybody else catch their breath and I think Hudson and Aidan really did that for us, and then everybody else kind of settled in and followed."
Still it was a team effort, and App noted that "really what's come together the last few weeks is that I feel very comfortable with the guys we've been playing. There's 11, 12 guys that I know what they bring and I think what I've gotten better at in the last few weeks is using them when we need their strengths."
Looking ahead, App said: "This is like this time of year, where you have to be able to go back to back and win. Right now, there's chances where we can keep in contention of being in the top four. A month ago, some people were thinking the worst, 'might never win another game,' but, to continually play better and learn, and string some wins together, that's what you got to do this time of year. We're definitely gonna enjoy this weekend, celebrate the seniors and families in the program tonight, and have another great week."
The Ephs start their final weekend of the regular season next Friday against Hamilton, in Clinton, NY. That game will tip off at the usual 7pm.
