Ephs men’s basketball Improve to 3-0 With 106 - 91 Win Over Wesleyan
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Williams College (3-0) downed Wesleyan University (2-1) 106-91, Tuesday in a men’s basketball version of the Hollywood classic Shootout at the OK Corral, only this time it was in the Ephs’ Chandler Gym. Williams connected on 58% of their floor shots on the night, while Wesleyan hit on 47%.
Williams got a team-high 32 points from senior captain Blake Shultz Eph sophomore guard James Wang added 29 and junior forward Harlan Dodson chipped in with 20, while classmate Troy Whittington netted 19. Whittington also had 3 blocks and 13 rebounds.
Williams led at the half 52-46 on the strength of 23 points from Blake Schultz. Wesleyan’s freshman guards Shasha Brown (14 points) and Derrick Beresford (11 points) led the Cardinals in the opening 20 minutes.
Brown led all scorers with 35 points on the night and backcourt mate Derick Beresford contributed 14, but Beresford struggled with his shot in the second half. Beresford hit on four of nine shots in the first half and netted 11 points, but was limited to just a three pointer in the second half as he made only one of 8 over the final 20 minutes.
Harlan Dodson’s second three of the second half made it 69-59 Williams with 14:02 remaining and forced the Cardinals to call timeout.
Wesleyan got a three from Kevin Scura and Greg St. jean added two free throws to narrow the Eph lead to 5, 69-64.
A James Wang three at 9:17 established another Eph 10-point lead, 79-69. Harlan Dodson next added two free throws.
A runner by Wesleyan’s Jeremy Kaminer was partially blocked by Blake Schultz and the Ephs called a timeout as soon as they crossed half court.
Out of the pause Wang penetrated down the lane for two and when Brown answered with his own layup Wang drained a three from the right corner to make it 86-71 with 5:55 left and the Ephs were in complete control.
“They’re a handful to guard,” said Eph head coach Mike Maker referring to the Wesleyan backcourt. “Coach [Joe] Reilly does a great job with his personnel spreading the floor, using their quickness and making us guard them in space. We utilize space too, but we focus on passing and not the dribble”.
Maker attributed the win to the hot shooting of Schultz and sophomore guard James Wang’s penetrations (29 points) and the maturation of his junior forwards. “We don’t win this game without the maturation of Harlan Dodson and Troy Whitington as players and young men. I’m just so pleased with their development. Blake Schultz was our go to guy tonight and he made a lot of good things happen on offense. And not just with his scoring”.
“Nate Robertson didn’t do much offensively, but his defense was a key,” noted Maker. “Collectively I thought we did a pretty good job of shuffling our feet on defense and keeping them off the foul line. We still have a ways to go, but were making progress.”
Williams once again achieved a team goal by making more free throws than their opponent attempted 24 to 11.
The much taller Ephs controlled play on the glass by collecting 41 caroms to the Cardinals’ 25.
“That was an excellent win for us against a well-coached team whose strength is our weakness,” stated Maker.
Wesleyan will next see action on December 3 when they travel to Albertus Magnus. Williams will be back in action this Sunday when they travel to North Adams to play MCLA.
NOTES: Blake Schultz has made 12 consecutive free throws hitting his last six vs. Cortland State and all six tonight. Tonight’s game was a non-league contest that counts on the season record and in Little Three play, but not in the NESCAC standings. The Ephs will visit Wesleyan for the NESCAC contest on January 22. Williams now owns a 6-game win streak over Wesleyan. Williams won its first outright Little Three title since 1996 last winter in head coach Mike Maker’s inaugural season at the helm.
Williams got a team-high 32 points from senior captain Blake Shultz Eph sophomore guard James Wang added 29 and junior forward Harlan Dodson chipped in with 20, while classmate Troy Whittington netted 19. Whittington also had 3 blocks and 13 rebounds.
Williams led at the half 52-46 on the strength of 23 points from Blake Schultz. Wesleyan’s freshman guards Shasha Brown (14 points) and Derrick Beresford (11 points) led the Cardinals in the opening 20 minutes.
Brown led all scorers with 35 points on the night and backcourt mate Derick Beresford contributed 14, but Beresford struggled with his shot in the second half. Beresford hit on four of nine shots in the first half and netted 11 points, but was limited to just a three pointer in the second half as he made only one of 8 over the final 20 minutes.
Harlan Dodson’s second three of the second half made it 69-59 Williams with 14:02 remaining and forced the Cardinals to call timeout.
Wesleyan got a three from Kevin Scura and Greg St. jean added two free throws to narrow the Eph lead to 5, 69-64.
A James Wang three at 9:17 established another Eph 10-point lead, 79-69. Harlan Dodson next added two free throws.
A runner by Wesleyan’s Jeremy Kaminer was partially blocked by Blake Schultz and the Ephs called a timeout as soon as they crossed half court.
Out of the pause Wang penetrated down the lane for two and when Brown answered with his own layup Wang drained a three from the right corner to make it 86-71 with 5:55 left and the Ephs were in complete control.
“They’re a handful to guard,” said Eph head coach Mike Maker referring to the Wesleyan backcourt. “Coach [Joe] Reilly does a great job with his personnel spreading the floor, using their quickness and making us guard them in space. We utilize space too, but we focus on passing and not the dribble”.
Maker attributed the win to the hot shooting of Schultz and sophomore guard James Wang’s penetrations (29 points) and the maturation of his junior forwards. “We don’t win this game without the maturation of Harlan Dodson and Troy Whitington as players and young men. I’m just so pleased with their development. Blake Schultz was our go to guy tonight and he made a lot of good things happen on offense. And not just with his scoring”.
“Nate Robertson didn’t do much offensively, but his defense was a key,” noted Maker. “Collectively I thought we did a pretty good job of shuffling our feet on defense and keeping them off the foul line. We still have a ways to go, but were making progress.”
Williams once again achieved a team goal by making more free throws than their opponent attempted 24 to 11.
The much taller Ephs controlled play on the glass by collecting 41 caroms to the Cardinals’ 25.
“That was an excellent win for us against a well-coached team whose strength is our weakness,” stated Maker.
Wesleyan will next see action on December 3 when they travel to Albertus Magnus. Williams will be back in action this Sunday when they travel to North Adams to play MCLA.
NOTES: Blake Schultz has made 12 consecutive free throws hitting his last six vs. Cortland State and all six tonight. Tonight’s game was a non-league contest that counts on the season record and in Little Three play, but not in the NESCAC standings. The Ephs will visit Wesleyan for the NESCAC contest on January 22. Williams now owns a 6-game win streak over Wesleyan. Williams won its first outright Little Three title since 1996 last winter in head coach Mike Maker’s inaugural season at the helm.
