Ephs take down Amherst, 70-56

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - The Williams College men's basketball team punctuated its season with a 70-56 senior-day victory against Amherst on Saturday afternoon. In front of a packed home crowd, the Ephs put together a stellar second-half performance to turn a close game into a comfortable victory.
 
The win ends the Ephs' season on a high note, as the team concludes the year at 13-11 overall and 2-8 in the NESCAC. With the loss, the Mammoths finish their regular season at 18-6 and 7-3 in conference play.
 
Prior to tipoff, the Ephs honored their seniors and their families with a short pregame ceremony. The starting lineup featured all five of the team's healthy seniors: Onyeraluobu Chibuogwu, Sammy Cooley, Isiaha Dickens, Hudson Hansen and Ben McGraw.
 
Playing their last game in the purple and gold, the seniors got off to a strong start. Dickens drilled an inside turnaround, and then found McGraw for a slip layup to put the team ahead 4-2 early. A few minutes later, Hansen splashed home a top-of-the-key triple and pointed at the cheering crowd, as the Ephs went ahead 9-4.
 
Off the bench, Matt DeVine picked right up from his 21-point game against Hamilton on Friday, nailing a corner 3 to make the score 14-7 and force an Amherst timeout with 13:40 to play. A few minutes later, he swished a deep, left-wing 3 late in the shot clock to increase the team's advantage to 18-9 and send the crowd into more hysterics.
 
The Ephs' defense continued to deny Amherst good looks at the basket, holding the Mammoths to just nine points through the first 10 minutes of game action and securing a 21-12 lead with under eight minutes to play in the half.
 
However, the Mammoths clawed back during the latter portion of the first half as the Ephs' offense hit a lull. Over nearly seven minutes, Amherst went on a 17-4 run to take a 29-25 lead. Cooley broke the drought with a big-time triple as the shot clock wound down toward the end of the half, and the Ephs headed into halftime down 29-28.
 
Head Coach Kevin App sent his seniors back out to start the second half and they delivered with a huge response. On the team's first offensive possession, Dickens made his sixth 3-pointer of the year on a pick and pop to put Williams back in front, 31-29. After an Amherst miss, Dickens found Cooley for a cutting layup, and then the Mammoths promptly turned the ball over.
 
An acrobatic Chibuogwu layup capped a quick 6-0 run to start the second half before Amherst called a timeout. Ninety seconds into the second half, the Ephs had retaken firm control and the crowd was back into it.
 
After the timeout, the Ephs continued to press their advantage. Jackson Rein put in a pair of free throws and Aidan Yates knocked down a contested top-of-the-key triple. Then, after another empty Amherst possession, DeVine caught a pass on the wing, beat his defender to the middle and finished with a driving dunk to put Williams ahead 44-32 with 13:56 to go in the game.
 
Williams continued to hit big shots and stay in control. A Yates' triple put the Ephs ahead 49-36 with under 10 minutes to play. Then, after a 7-2 Amherst run prompted a Williams timeout, DeVine drilled a contested left-wing 3 to give the Ephs a 54-43 advantage with 7:29 to play. He would finish with 12 points to lead all bench scorers.
 
The game would bog down for the next few minutes as both offenses struggled to find space. Then came the dagger.
 
With the Ephs clinging to a 56-47 lead with just over four minutes left, Dickens found himself at the top of the key with the shot clock nearing zero. He dribbled once and with a second to go on the shot clock, rose for a tightly contested jumper over two defenders that hit the backboard and every part of the rim before dropping in.
 
Dickens' 3-pointer with 4:08 to play put Williams ahead 59-47 and was the team's final field goal of the game. For the next four minutes, the lead never dipped below double digits, as the Ephs continued to clamp down defensively while taking care of the basketball on offense. A series of free throws iced the 70-56 victory and capped off the season in style.
 
In the win, the Ephs shot over 50.0% from the field and 43.5% from the 3-point line, both top-three marks for the team in NESCAC play.
 
Individually, Hansen finished with 15 points and five assists in 33 minutes, all team highs. DeVine and Rein combined for 23 points off of the bench.
 
Two seniors also set career marks in the victory. Dickens finished with a career-high 10 points in his last game, while Chibuogwu had six points and a career-high nine rebounds.