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Williams Menβs Basketball Dominates BowdoinBy Matthew Piltch
Williams Sports Info
08:42AM / Monday, February 08, 2010
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Second-ranked Williams men's basketball dominated Bowdoin on Senior Day (Feb. 6), claiming a 97-54 victory behind 59 percent shooting from the field, 37 percent field goal percentage defense, and 26 points in 22 minutes from senior co-captain Blake Schultz.
The Ephs are now 21-1 on the season and 7-0 in the NESCAC; the team has won 12 straight games and currently stands alone at the top of the conference. The Polar Bears had beaten the Ephs three of four times and in two straight games coming into the contest.
Every senior was able to score for the Ephs in the game: Joe Geoghegan and William Hardy had four points each, Mike Moorstein scored three, and Ethan Timmins-Schiffman, Will Hardy, and Charlie Cates each scored two. James Wang and Brian Emerson joined Schultz in double figures with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Schultz finished the game 10-13 from the field and 6-6 from three; he also picked up two rebounds and three assists.
The Ephs took control of the game from the get-go, taking a 16-9 lead on a Schultz three with 4:30 into the game behind 11 points from Schultz on 4-5 shooting. The Ephs then took over, and had opened up a 34-15 lead with 6:50 to play. However, Williams couldn’t entirely pull away, as the Polar Bears went on an 8-3 run over the next 3:22 to make the score 37-23. The teams traded baskets the rest of the half, and Williams went into the break with a 47-31 lead.
The Ephs shot an incredible 68 percent from the field and 69 percent from three in the first half. They also held Bowdoin to 42 percent shooting. Schultz scored 18 in the half, going 7-7 from the field after missing his first shot. Wang joined him in double figures with 10 points on 4-5 shooting. Paul Sellew scored 13 for Bowdoin and was the only Polar Bear in double figures.
The second half saw the Ephs take it up a notch on the defense while continuing their onslaught on the offensive end of the floor. The result was that Williams led by more than 30 less than six minutes into the half and continued to pull way the rest of the game. Their final 97-54 lead, a 43-point margin, was their largest lead of the game.
Emerson scored all 11 of his points in the final 10 minutes of the game to lead the Eph substitutes, and only two Ephs didn’t score in the game. The Ephs held the Polar bears to 31 percent shooting from the floor in the second half, and Sellew ended the game as the only Polar Bear in double figures, although he did not score in the second half. Williams’ own shooting percentage dropped to 54 percent for the second 20 minutes, but the team was nevertheless able to score 50 second-half points because of strong offensive rebounding (six in the final 10 minutes).
"Obviously I am happy with the team's performance," said Eph head coach Mike Maker.
"I was particularly happy to win on Senior Day on our home court. These guys have given so much to the program and the institution. We played well, we shared the ball, and I am very happy for our seniors."
Schultz’s scoring outburst puts the senior 61 points from 10th all-time in Williams history with 1,291 points; with 505 rebounds, he also needs two more to move into 10th all time in Williams history. Meanwhile, Geoghegan sits at sixth all time in Williams history for rebounds with 678, and only needs six more to move into fifth. As a class, the seniors have a 71-30 career record while claiming the 2007 NESCAC championship and the Williams’ first outright Little Three Title since 1996 last season.
"It is a little depressing to think about having to replace these gentlemen," said Maker. "Not just their ability as basketball players, but the type of young men they are and the impact they have on everyone around them. I am happy about the success they have had, but the way they are doing it is what is so impressive. They have had as much impact on me as any group I have ever had the pleasure to be around, and the are a pleasure to coach."
The Ephs will head to Amherst on Friday, Feb. 12, for an 8 p.m. game against the archrival Jeffs, who have been struggling of late. The 14-7 Jeffs have lost four of their last five games and four straight in the conference, including a 69-68 loss today to Tufts. The team will then travel to Trinity on Saturday, Feb. 13, for a 4 p.m. game that will be its final regular season game. |
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