WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Second-ranked Williams men’s basketball triumphed over conference co-leader Colby 82-58 Friday night to seize control of the NESCAC. The Ephs are now 20-1 on the season and 6-0 in the NESCAC, while Colby, ranked 25th in the country, is now 18-2 and 5-1 in the conference.

Five Ephs scored in double figures and the team shot 45 percent from the field, but the Williams’ defense was the deciding factor in the game, as Colby only converted on 34 percent of its field goal attempts and the Ephs picked up 10 steals for the game. Adam Choice was the only Mule in double figures with 24 points.

Colby appeared to have more than a fighting chance as the game began, as a Choice layup made the score 11-6 in favor of Colby with 14:23 to play in the half. The Mules played stellar defense over the first 10 minutes of the game, as the Ephs opened the half 3-10 from the field. However, the Ephs were able to fight back with a 9-2 run in spite of the Mules’ efforts, and an Alex Rubin three from 30 feet made the score 15-14 with 9:57 to play.

Despite its slim lead, the team appeared as though it might struggle when starting point guard and second-leading scorer James Wang picked up his third foul with 8:16 to play in the half and the Ephs still up 15-14. However, back up point guard Nate Robertson was more than up to the challenge. With Wang on the bench, Robertson came in and scored or assisted on 20 of the Ephs’ final 25 points of the half while the Ephs shut down the Mules' offense the rest of the way, and the team entered the half up 42-22.

"I thought the game changed when Nate came in," said Eph head coach Mike Maker. "I was concerned when James picked up his third foul, but it enabled Nate to take the reigns of the offense, get out and run, find his team mates, and be assertive. It has been someone else every night, and Nate gave us an extra boost and the cushion we needed going into half time tonight."

The second half brought more of the Eph onslaught. Colby scored the first four points of the half and Maker called time out only 1:06 into the half, but then Williams took over. With the score 42-26 and 18:54 to play in the half, the Ephs went on a 21-4 run over the next 6:19 to make the score 63-30 with 12:35 to play and put the game out of reach for the Mules.

Every Eph starter was out of the game with 8:24 to play in the game and the score 75-46, and the Ephs shot 10-18 in the half’s opening 12 minutes. Every Mule starter was out of the game by the six-minute mark, and the game ended with the final of 82-58. The lone down side of the half for Williams was that Robertson collided with a Mule with 15:54 to play in the half; he was forced to substitute with a cut above his eye, and did not reenter the game.

Robertson finished the game as the Ephs’ leading scorer with 14 points and also picked up 4 assists. Blake Schultz scored 13 in his 100th game in a Williams uniform, while Wang, Troy Whittington, and Harlan Dodson scored 11, 14 and 12 points respectively. In addition, Wang picked up four assists and six rebounds, and Whittington grabbed seven boards and three steals. Joe Geoghegan led the way for the Ephs on the glass with eight rebounds.

Maker was particularly pleased with not only his team’s defense for the game, but also its improvement on the defensive end of the floor for the season. "We have good players who are tough-minded, disciplined, and hungry," he said. "We committed after last season to getting better defensively as team, and we have.

"We get a lot of credit for our offense, and rightfully so, but I think that we haven’t received enough credit for our defense until recently," he continued. "It is a collective effort; we have committed players who pay attention to detail, we can go both big and small, and we have depth. That has made a big difference this season."