West Massachusetts News

Ephs Regroup to Win 77-66 Against Hamilton

 The Williams College Ephs (13-1, 1-1 NESCAC) defeated the Hamilton Continentals (9-6, 1-1 NESCAC) 77-66 to bounce back from their first loss of the season in convincing fashion and earn a conference road win — just a night removed from the Continentals victory over #8 Middlebury in the same building. After pulling ahead by 19 in the first half, the lead diminished to as low as six points on multiple occasions in the final minutes. Remaining cool and collective under pressure, the Ephs pushed past injuries and lineup changes to regain momentum entering a stretch of six home games against conference games. Spivy scored 15 in the first half, before Nate Karren and Declan Porter had 14 and 11 in the second period, respectively. 

"Fortunately, this was the first time we had to see how this group would respond after a loss — and today was another test they passed," Eph head coach Kevin App remarked after the game. "They played great, played hard, played together, and got us a hard-fought road win."

In the early minutes, after working the ball around the perimeter, Nate Karren found Spencer Spivy on the baseline as the junior used a pump fake to create space and sink a layup. A couple plays later, Evan Glatzer found Spivy again down low for another Williams basket. These sequences demonstrated the Ephs improved energy and patience coming off of a loss where the team committed more unforced errors than usual.

Back-to-back post-ups from Hudson Hansen gave the Ephs a 12-5 lead, and an untouched drive from Spivy increased the gap to nine with 12:15 left in the first half. More points in the paint from Prowitt-Smith moved the deficit to 11 on the back of a forced violation from Hamilton.

After combining for just six assists as a team last night, the Ephs had a collection of spectacular passes in the first half. Noah Dinkins weaved the ball into Brandon Arnold with 7:40 to go in the half, before Glatzer continued his run of dimes as he found Alex Lee.

The Williams lead climbed as high as 19, but the Continentals closed the half on a 9-2 run to make the score 36-24 at the half. The success on the inside glass meant the Ephs had little reason to shoot from deep — Spivy, who had a game-high 15 points at the midway mark, registered one make from three attempts in the half. Overall, Williams went 13-25 (52%) from the field, while Hamilton shot 10-30 (33%). 

Declan Porter nailed a triple in the opening minutes of the second half to put the Ephs up 43-29. Williams started 2-8 in the period, however, and the Continentals trimmed the gap to 10 with 15:00 to play. A timeout was unable to stop the run, and a couple turnovers allowed Hamilton to crawl within five. 

With the Ephs needing a basket, Lee completed a smooth and-one. Next, Porter floated in a layup and the lead was back to double-digits. 

A series of makes from Karren would not deter the Continentals, and a 12-4 run closed the gap to 56-50 with 6:11 left. Glatzer and Karren responded on offense, however, as the inside game of the Ephs continued to click.

Teja Singh scored 16 points in the final 11 minutes for the Continentals, helping them stick around for the duration of the contest. The Ephs had no interest in repeating yesterday's result, however, and stepped up in the clutch to hang on for the win. Key baskets from Glatzer, as well as a two-handed jam from Hansen, kept their lead intact. 

"Hamilton has a great team — that's why they won last night," App said. "I was proud of how we didn't let one play or one stretch turn into anything negative. Our bench especially stepped up."

The Ephs will now prepare to host Colby and Bowdoin next weekend. With almost a week before their next game, App looks forward to the chance to get back in the gym. "It's been a while since we've had the time to get back to our habits and rhythm. We would love to get the sweep, but we got the split and now we'll go from here. 

Original source can be found here