Ursinus tops Ephs on late three, 85-82
Kevin Snyder '09
WILLIAMSTOWN, MA -- Simply put, Saturday's game between the Ephs (2-1) and the Bears of Ursinus College (2-0) to decide the Williams Invitational Championship was an outstanding basketball game. To the pleasant surprise of many, the game proved to be that rarest of contests that appeals both to the casual fan as well as the hoops fanatic - a well-played game on both sides of the ball containing lead changes and pulse-quickening plays galore, with the outcome eventually subject to that cruelest of tie-breakers when two teams unwilling to give in square off - chance. The score - Ursinus 85, Williams 82 - seems almost an afterthought.
While the first half in many great college basketball games is often left behind by the memory, the first half of Saturday's game was nearly, if not equally, as exciting as the second. Williams took an 18-10 lead with 14:21 to go in the first half on a three-pointer by Blake Schultz, giving Williams their biggest lead of the half. It would be short-lived though, as Bears guard Matt Hilton drained a three moments later to spark a 10-0 Ursinus run, making the score 20-18 in favor of the Bears.
The two teams would battle out the next several minutes until the Bears opened up their biggest lead of the half at the 4:30 mark on a pair of TJ Jones free throws to go up 40-31. Right when the Ephs' needed him, however, the captain Snyder would step up. With just over four minutes to go the 6'4" guard nailed a three, and on the next play came up with a steal to induce a fast-break that senior Tommas Golia would lead and junior Alex Rubin would finish. Golia provided great energy for the Ephs down the stretch in the first half, as on consecutive plays he hit a three (assisted by Snyder), forced an Ursinus turnover, and drew a charge.
Eph Coach Mike Maker was pleased with, among others, the contribution from Golia, saying, "Tommas Golia played terrific basketball today, and I thought he gave us great leadership and toughness especially there at the end of the first half."
With 2:17 left Snyder took a handoff from big-man Ethan Timmins-Schiffman and knocked down another three to finally tie the game at 42. When the dust had settled Williams had produced an impressive 15-4 run over the last 4:30 of the half, and headed to the locker room tied 44-44. Williams overcame a 62% shooting clip by the Bears in the first half by forcing nine Ursinus turnovers and out shooting their opponent from behind the arc (the Ephs were 9 for 19 from long range in the first half).
In the second half the Bears switched up their attack a little, and gave the Ephs trouble for much of the second half by pushing the pace. Point guard Remy Cousart (who had only 2 points in the first half) scored 15 points in the second half and seemed to be making a concerted effort to get in the lane, causing some problems for Williams. Cousart had a huge second half, grabbing 8 rebounds as well to finish the game with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
"Our biggest concern coming in was defensive transition," said Maker, "They're awfully good at running wide and sharing the ball to get open 3's or lay ups. We definitely have to get better at that, but at the same time they're an especially tough guard because they have all four guys that can shoot it from three."
One of the telltale signs of just how good a half of basketball the second half of Saturday's game was the relative lack of any big runs, by either team. It wasn't for a lack of trying though, as were it not for a number of clutch plays by Snyder the Bears might've pulled away. The Littleton, CO native carried the Ephs for minutes at a time in the second half, and seemed to come up with a big shot every time the Bears threatened to pull away. Snyder finished the game with a career-high 30 points, 18 of which came in the second half. Including among those was a huge three-pointer just after Ursinus had taken their biggest lead of the half at 68-60. Moments later Snyder would add two free throws, and at the 8-minute mark he hit a jumper to pull the Ephs to within five.
Said Snyder after the game, "For me, after being here for three years, my whole attitude is I just want to do anything I can to help the team win, and use whatever potential I have to help the team in any way I can."
Still, the Bears stretched their lead back to seven with under eight minutes to play. The Ephs hung around though, and with under three minutes back-to-back lay ups by Schultz and Snyder finally tied the game at 80-all.
With the Ephs in the double bonus a reach-in foul against the Bears just moments later resulted in two free throws by Schultz and an 82-80 Williams lead, their first since early in the first half. Schultz had a great game in his own right, scoring 25 points.
"Both Kevin and Blake understand they have the green light and their teammates realize they're both very talented," said Maker, "we try to play with freedom within our structure and I thought that both those guys did a great job of doing that tonight."
With an 82-80 lead and less than a minute in the game, many thought the Ephs had secured the win when a Keith Page three-point attempt bounced off the rim. Somehow emerging with the rebound amidst at least two Ephs was Bears point-guard Cousart. With a heads-up play Cousart kicked the ball out to All-American shooting guard John Noonan, who buried a three-pointer from the corner just over the outstretched hands of Schultz and sophomore Troy Whittington (Brooklyn, NY).
"Defensively, they're a tough team to guard," admitted Maker, "They're a very good basketball team and they have an All-American in Noonan - it came down to a 50-50 ball we didn't get on a rebound and they just sprayed the ball to Noonan and he made a challenged three and that was the ballgame right there."
With time left for only one more play, the Ephs ran a pretty good play for an open Schultz jumper at the elbow, but the shot hit the front rim and just rattled out.
"I told Blake after the game that we'll take that shot anyday," said Kevin Snyder, "We ran a good play and got a good shot, and I know he's gonna make that more than he misses."
While the Ephs turned in an impressive performance this early in the season against a team ranked fourth nationally in one poll, the loss still smarted:
"I'm disappointed for the kids because this would've made a major statement for us," said Maker.
Snyder and Schultz were the only Ephs to score in double digits on the game, but a lot of other Ephs contributed in other ways. Junior Will Hardy made a three for the Ephs at a crucial stage in the game and the sophomore Whittington led the team with 3 blocks.
"I'm the luckiest coach in the country to coach these kinds of kids and I mean that," said Maker, "and this is the place I've always wanted to coach because of that reason; because of the character and the unselfishness of these kids and the way they really pull for each other."
Noonan led the Bears with 20 points on the game. Guard Matt Hilton added 15 points and Matt Howell contributed 14. The Bears finished the game shooting 58% from the field and 40% from behind the arc.
The Ephs strong showing despite the loss was encouraging to Snyder:
"We can take this energy and just get better, because we're going to get better at the offense as the season goes on. I really think we're going to be tough to beat."
Williams returns to action Tuesday at 7:30 pm for a home game vs. Wesleyan
