WILLIAMSTOWN, MA — Williams men’s basketball was dominant in its home opener. In front of a packed gym, the Ephs defeated the Southern Vermont Mountaineers 98-74 to advance to the final of the Williams Invitational.
It was not always clear that the Ephs would win in such an authoritative fashion after the first half. The game was back and forth for the first 10 minutes until Williams turned a three-point lead into 10 behind a four-point play from freshman point guard Nate Robertson, followed quickly by three by sophomore guard James Wang.
The lead remained around 10 until the Mountaineers, led by junior guard Lance Spratling, were able to go on a 7-1 run in the last three minutes of the half, making the score 44-41.
Head coach Mike Maker thought the team was a little tense in the first half for a variety of reasons. “Our effort and our spirit were absolutely fantastic, but our discipline and our decision making were not,” said Maker. “We played too excited because of the atmosphere. We’re trying to do too much and trying to please the wonderful turnout from the community and in particular the student body, our 6th man. It was our first game, we were really excited to play, we made some uncharacteristic plays because of that. Our intentions were good, but we were trying to do too much.”
However, the second half was a different story. The Mountaineers were able to tie the game in the opening seconds and senior co-captain and all NESCAC performer Blake Schultz was forced to leave the game with foul trouble less than two minutes into the half, but the Ephs then opened up a 9 point lead by the 16:51 mark. Wang and senior center and co-captain Joe Geoghegan on the run, with five and four points respectively in the half’s opening minutes.
Senior forward Ethan Timmons-Schiffman made the lead 12 with 15:21 left in the half; senior guard Alex Rubin then hit a fast break lay up off a Mountaineer turnover, forcing Southern Vermont to call a time out to try to stop the Ephs’ momentum.
The Mountaineer’s efforts were to no avail, however. With 9:47 left in the half, the Ephs had a 20-point lead. Williams ultimately led by as many as 30, though Southern Vermont, with only four men on the court due to foul trouble and injury, cut the lead to 24 before time expired.
The Ephs ended up winning 98-74 because they played well on both sides of the ball. Williams shot 51.4% from the field in the second half while forcing the Mountaineers to shoot only 33.3%.
“We try to teach that good players make a series of really simple plays,” said Maker. “I thought we did that in the second half offensively, and we got back to Williams basketball in the second half defensively [and] got back to guarding without fouling.”
“The second half showed our resolve, our togetherness and our spirit,” added Maker. “For us to be able to pull away with [Schultz], our leading scorer [last year] and arguably one of the best players in the NESCAC and in New England, on the bench for most of the game because of foul trouble says a lot about our depth and a lot about our character.”
Maker also gave credit to the fans that came to the game. “There’s no way we have that kind of effort in the second half without the student body’s support,” he said.
Spratling led the Mountaineers in scoring with 29, though he scored only 10 in the second half and picked up five second half turnovers for a total of seven for the game. Sophomore guard Brett Clattworthy had 17 points, and senior forward Joe Karnik chipped in 16 points and five rebounds.
Every player in uniform for Williams played more than two-thirds of the roster scored. Wang led the Ephs with 22 points and 10 assists, while Robertson scored 11 and had four assists in his collegiate debut. Schultz scored 10 in only 18 minutes, while Geoghegan had eight points and 11 rebounds. Junior center Troy Whittington added 15 points and 8 rebounds.
“I think depth is a strength of our basketball team,” said Maker. “We’re going to need everybody – it’s a long season.”
The team will take on Cortland State tomorrow 4 p.m. in the finals of the Invitational.
“We have to feel good about the victory and prepare ourselves for a difficult game tomorrow against Cortland,” said Maker. “Tomorrow is another game, a different game. Cortland State is going to throw it inside. They’re wide, they’re tough, they’re well coached, they’re disciplined, so it’ll be a tough game tomorrow.”
