15-0 second-half run blows game open as Jeffs roll to 72-54 victory
Defense Leads Men's Hoops to Rout of Williams
15-0 second-half run blows game open
as Jeffs roll to 72-54 victory
AMHERST, Mass. - Amherst junior Erik
Kelly (Staples, MN) scored all 12 of his points in the second
half, including nine during a 15-0 run that broke a 40-40 tie
as the Jeffs would cruise past arch-rival Williams College, 72-54,
in front of an over-capacity crowd Saturday night at LeFrak Gymnasium.
Thanks to 14 points from senior Co-captain
Chris Smith (Swarthmore, PA), the Jeffs took a 35-31 lead
to halftime, including a scalding 14/26 (53.8%) shooting performance
from the field. But the Ephs battled back to knot the game at
40 early in the second half behind the junior forwards duo of
Joe Weiss (Washington, DC) and Manny Benjamin (Harare,
Zimbabwe). The Ephs had two chances to take the lead, but
the Amherst defense began to clamp down, and the Jeff shooters
became red-hot. The Jeffs forced turnovers on seven of the Ephs'
next 10 possessions, holding the Ephs scoreless for over seven
minutes. A Kelly three-pointer capped the dramatic run at 55-40
before a lay-in from Eph senior Co-captain Sean Keenan (Rutland,
VT) finally stopped the bleeding, but it was too little, too
late, and the Jeffs never looked back. The Ephs only shot 32%
from the field in the second half, and a paltry 38% from the charity
stripe, while Amherst shot 50.8% from the field for the game.
The Jeffs led by as much as 24 (72-48), before the Ephs scored
six points in the final minute to close the scoring.
Smith scored a game-high 18 points for the
Jeffs, while Kelly added six assists and six steals. Junior Brian
Daoust (Dover, MA) chipped in 12 more for Amherst, and senior
Co-captain Hugh Quattlebaum (Andover, MA) had a strong
all-around game with 11 points, five boards and four assists.
Kelly, who finished five for 12 from the field, added career-highs
in assists (six) and steals (six) to his sharp-shooting performance.
As a team, the Jeffs shot over 50 percent for the game (30-59),
including a 6-16 performance from behind the three-point line.
Williams only had two players in double figures, with Weiss leading
the way with 14 points and Benjamin contributing 10 points and
11 rebounds. Senior Williams Co-captain Jim Sheehy (Syosset,
NY) was held well below his season averages, with only seven
points and three assists in 35 minutes as Williams scored the
fewest points by an Amherst opponent since January 7, 1997, when
Johnson and Wales scored 47 in a 125-47 Amherst rout. The 54 points
by the Ephs was their lowest offensive output since a 58-54 loss
to Middlebury College on February 14, 1996.
The Amherst senior class has never lost to
Williams at home in their career, and the Jeffs now have a three-game
winning streak over their arch-rivals, as the Jeffs improve to
69-103 all-time against Williams. Amherst moves to 8-3 overall
with the win, and next plays Tuesday night at home against Wesleyan,
a team the Jeffs defeated 84-65 last Wednesday. The Jeffs can
capture at least a share of their second straight Little III title
with a win on Tuesday. The Ephs drop to 7-2 on the year, and are
next in action Tuesday night at Hamilton College, a 7:30 p.m.
start.
| Williams (7-2) |
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| Amherst (8-3) |
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Williams (54) Weiss 5-11 0-0 14, Benjamin 4-11 2-6 10, Conley 4-6 0-1 8, Sheehy 2-4 2-2 7, Dickens 3-5 0-0 7, Keenan 1-7 1-4 3, Hassell 1-2 0-0 2, Folan 1-4 0-0 2, Conforti 0-0 1-2 1, Seward 0-2 0-0 0, TOTALS 21-54 6-15 54
Amherst (72) Smith 8-12 0-0 18, Daoust 3-11 4-6 12, Kelly 5-12 1-1 12, Quattlebaum 5-8 1-2 11, Zieja 3-4 0-0 7, Collins 3-5 0-0 6, Fitzsimons 2-3 0-0 4, Sexson 1-1 0-0 2, Faulkner 0-1 0-0 0, Proctor 0-1 0-0 0, Taverna 0-1 0-0 0, Jenkins 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, TOTALS 30-59 6-9 72
3-point goals - Williams 6-14 (Weiss 4-8, Sheehy 1-1, Dickens 1-1, Keenan 0-1, Conley 0-1, Seward 0-2) Amherst 6-16 (Smith 2-2, Daoust 2-7, Kelly 1-5, Faulkner 0-1). Fouled out - None. Rebounds - Williams 32 (Benjamin 11), Amherst 40 (Collins 10). Assists - Williams 12 (Conley 4), Amherst 20 (Kelly 6). Total fouls - Williams 13, Amherst 17. Technicals - None. Attendance - 1750.