Ephs Erase 11-Point Halftime Deficit to Overcome SUNY Oneonta

By Press release submission

Dec 7, 2022

Trailing by eight with 13 minutes to play, the Williams College Ephs (8-0) faced a situation unfamiliar to them this season against SUNY Oneonta (6-2). While St. Lawrence had pushed them to the brink a week prior, Tuesday's non-conference matchup was the first time the Ephs had faced a significant deficit late in a game. Thriving under pressure, the Ephs put together a 14-0 run that handed them the lead en route to a 66-56 win on the road in the penultimate game before winter break. Cole Prowitt-Smith scored 14 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Ephs offensively on the night.

"Tonight, and against St. Lawrence, they didn't flinch," an upbeat Kevin App said after the game. "They could blame all sorts of stuff, but they stuck with it. It was just settling down, understanding it was going to be a physical game, and not shying away from that. I thought we played with more rhythm on the offensive end in the second half, and several guys stepped up."

Speaking on the performance of Prowitt-Smith, App said, "I'm really proud of Cole. With maturity and being an upperclassman, you realize when to step up into that scoring role, which he did tonight. It shows not only the trust that group has in him but also that the group follows."

In a similar story to the previous three games, both offenses took time to find their stride. The Ephs opened 1-6 from the field, while the Red Dragons started 1-9. Oneonta was able to piece together a few baskets, however, and a layup in transition gave the home team up a 12-6 lead. With the Ephs needing a basket to gain some energy, Declan Porter patiently found Brandon Arnold in the paint, and the junior completed a gritty three-point play with 12:49 to go in the first half.

Over four minutes of game clock would pass until the next basket, but a bucket from Brandon Roughley began a trio of layups on three consecutive possessions to put Williams up 15-13.

After two exchanges of layups from Porter and the Red Dragons to make the score 19-18, the rest of the half proved disastrous for the Ephs. The Red Dragons three-pointers began to fall as they marched to a 18-6 run in which they went 3-4 from beyond the arc. Joseph Bull banked in a triple as the first half buzzer sounded to extend the lead to 11 at 36-25.

"We just weren't playing with the pace and aggressiveness that we needed to on the offensive end," App said of the Ephs first half woes. "I thought we guarded them well for the first ten minutes on the defensive end, but because things weren't going well offensively, we started trying to do too much defensively, which gave them some good looks."

One key difference in the period was in fastbreak points — the Red Dragons won that battle 13-0. Additionally, 18 of the Ephs 25 points came in the paint.

Facing new territory, all eyes turned to how the Ephs would respond. Porter nailed a trey to open the second half, and Karren found his way to the rack to cut the deficit to six. Still, the Red Dragons continued to apply pressure and held an eight-point lead with 13:09 remaining.

Two minutes later, the tide turned. Karren began a 14-0 run for the Ephs over 4:09, in which Prowitt-Smith scored eight straight points. A short jumper from the guard gave the Ephs a 48-45 lead with 8:11 to go. Then, it was Spivy who scored the next eight Eph points. Notably, he used pump fake on the perimeter to create space and drive in for an uncontested layup. The next possession, he pulled it from deep to put the Ephs up by nine with 5:29 left.

Williams improved their shooting significantly to make 14-23 (61%) of their attempts in the second half, while holding Oneonta to 7-25 (28%). Further, the Ephs went 11-17 from the free throw line during the game compared to 5-13 for the Red Dragons. In addition to Prowitt-Smith's 21, Karren and Porter notched 13 a piece.

"Every road win is a great opportunity and a challenge," App said. "Against a veteran team who was 6-1, we knew it was going to be a test. A win like this can give you confidence and propel you next time things aren't going well. I'm proud of them."

The Ephs take the court for the final time before winter break in Chandler Gymnasium on Saturday, December 10th at 4 p.m. against Springfield.