MBB: NESCAC

eph partisan · March 11, 2011, 08:59:45 PM

Refs helping out VW a little. Two rough calls on Robertson, combined with a missed and-1 for Rooke-Ley, who is coming up big again after a rough first half. Robertson with 4 fouls. This will be interesting. Ephs in the bonus for the final 6:30, too.

eph partisan · March 11, 2011, 09:03:00 PM

Maker leaves Robertson in the game, makes a great pass to Whittington off a drive that draws two defenders, Williams takes its first lead on the dunk! 60-59, Ephs, now with 5:20 or so to play. Whittington has been incredible on the offensive and defensive end.

If the Ephs win, it's because Robertson stays in - he's handling most of the point duties and doing exceptionally.

eph partisan · March 11, 2011, 09:10:56 PM

Oh, yeah. And because of Whittington. He's important too.

16-4 run over the last five minutes. Whittington killing it, everywhere. He has four blocks, but he is altering every shot within 10 feet of the rim. 26 pts, 8 boards, 3 assists. Disgusting. Wang hits a big three to give the Ephs a 7 point lead. 3:08 to play.

Bucket · March 11, 2011, 09:13:25 PM

Midd up 7 3:30

magicman · March 11, 2011, 09:19:56 PM

Middlebury has a 6 point lead with 1:40 to go.

Williams with a 8 point lead, 51 seconds to go.

Amerst already in.

3 0f 8 from the NESCAC conference.

magicman · March 11, 2011, 09:24:26 PM

Williams defeats Virginia Wesleyan 79-73 and joins Amherst in the Great 8.

magicman · March 11, 2011, 09:26:17 PM

Middlebury holds off Rochester 61-52 to join Amherst and Williams in the Great 8.

nescac1 · March 11, 2011, 09:28:30 PM

Unbelievable second half from Williams. They just kept coming and coming and coming until they finally broke a VERY talented, but young, VWU's team will. Ephs rebounded and defended MUCH better in the last ten minutes of the game. And their offense was just on fire down the stretch, great ball movement and lots of open looks ... if they hadn't missed probably four layups underneath, the margin could have been wider.

VWU could be number one next year. You could see they just weren't battle-tested enough to close out a veteran team, but they are deep, talented, athletic, and can shoot. Tough team.

Whittington was, of course, simply unreal. I can't imagine anyone else will choose to single-guard him ... given the situation and how badly he was needed, this has to rank as one of the top ten individual efforts in Williams history. Simply dominant. The other key player was Robertson, 9 points, 5 assists, 3 boards, 2 charges drawn, and as usual, the numbers don't do his play justice. He just controlled the game with heady play. Wang also made some big plays, although I wouldn't say it was his best game ever.

Dodson's 3 to basically clinch it was crazy -- 25 feet from the hoop, all alone, 20 left on the shot clock when Ephs were running clock, just nails it -- the sort of shot you wince at going up, but when it goes in, it's all good.

Great day, overall, for Williams hoops with Dave Paulsen's Bucknell squad going to the big dance.

Three NESCAC teams in the Elite 8, that is definitely a new high for the conference. At least one, and I predict two, in the Final Four. I don't think anyone can question the talent in NESCAC after tonight. Williams-Amherst in Chandler to go to the Final Four ... it simply doesn't get any better. Can't wait. Go Ephs, Go Midd!

PS happy as a NESCAC fan to see Stevens Point go down. I hate those guys

.

eph partisan · March 11, 2011, 09:30:44 PM

Ephs lock it up with some good FT shooting. A huge three from Harlan Dodson from nearly NBA range with 1:24 to play really closed the game out. 79-72 final.

Whittington, as I mentioned before and nescac1 said, and is obvious, was a monster. He was obviously the key to the victory. 28, 11, 3, 4 stat line. Unreal. VW decided to cover him one-on-one. Obviously not the best decision.

Wang played a really nice game. Didn't force too much: only one assist, but not one turnover. Not sure the last time that happened. 16 points on 4-12 shooting, 6-7 from the line. I prefer this to the Wang from the first two rounds.

Ephs only had 6 TOs on the game.

Robertson was remarkable down the stretch. Playing with four fouls, he handled the ball, he drew a charge, had an assist, made a few buckets, and played stellar defense. His presence was central to the win. Great decision by Maker. His stat line did not come close to telling the story (again, nescac1 pointed this out).

Congrats to Midd and Amherst. Three NESCAC teams in the Elite 8, at least one in the Final 4. Obviously, tomorrow will be a good day for amateur hoops. Taking the Ephs over Amherst. Too much Wang and Whittington. But I would make that call if we were fielding a team with neither... Good luck to all three teams tomorrow.

Edits because I wrote this as nescac1 was posting and only realized it after...

DeWayneCarter · March 11, 2011, 09:45:56 PM

Congrats too Williams... you guys should take it all.. Troy Whittington is a HELL of a ball player oh my goodness... my boys simply had no answer for him. It was kind of a pick your poison matchup because we didn't want to leave your shooters open... worked for 35 minutes though. Luckily for us, we return the entire roster so we should be back next year.... congrats to Williams... id rather see the team who took VWC out take the whole thing, so go get it fellas!

ephoops · March 11, 2011, 09:49:59 PM

Quote from: nescac1 on March 11, 2011, 09:28:30 PM

PS happy as a NESCAC fan to see Stevens Point go down. I hate those guys .

Tough night for both UW-SP teams...

With the WIAC out of the tournament, a NESCAC team will win the National Championship...

ephoops · March 11, 2011, 09:53:06 PM

Watching the Aug v MHB game.

Augustana has a nice hoops facility...

nescac1 · March 11, 2011, 09:54:21 PM

Thanks DeWayne ... I hope you are right! But tomorrow will be a war. I think Williams is just a slight bit better than Amherst, but throw all that out when these teams play (so long as they are reasonably close, as they are), the two teams know each other so well, strange things can happen, and unexpected guys step up. You know Troy, Wang, and Nate will bring it tomorrow, but the Ephs need a BIT more out of the supporting cast, especially Klemm, to knock off a very balanced Amherst team who seems to be shooting the ball very well right now. No easy looks from deep for Toomey tomorrow!!

I was impressed with your guys from VWU. This experience will serve them well next year, hard to win on the road in a big spot without any seniors. Woodmore is going to be an all-American before he is done, Vaughn is indeed a great athlete (his follow-dunk was nasty), and you have lots of quick wings who can both drive and shoot. Well coached as well, seemed to get more open outside looks vs. Williams than any team I can recall. I was surprised you guys didn't double Troy more the way he was playing, or at least play your big guy more, who at least slowed Troy down a tiny bit. But I guess you go with what brought you!

amh63 · March 11, 2011, 09:57:59 PM

fcp85......The Amherst website list the game at around 7 PM.
Amherst almost let this game get away. It was, IMO, Amherst's "HUSSON" game. Must give RIC credit as they hustled to stay in the game. Holmes played hard but his "weaknesses" appeared again.......Rebounds well but doesn't finish well inside. He didn't hustle down after scoring and his man makes a layup.....sat down. He again decides to take a three outside with nobody underneath and RIC in the midst of a run. At least Toomey's late threes were taken when someone was underneath for rebounds. Holmes just loses focus on his role on the team at times and his time on the floor decreases. Good to see Meehan and Toomey make their FTs at the end. Contrats to Meehan for reaching the 1000 pt mark in the game! Needed 20 and he got 20.
Amherst vs. Williams. Payback time!

JustAFan · March 11, 2011, 10:04:17 PM

Old Guy, looking forward to your report. Did you see any of the St. Mary's prelim game? On paper they seem very athletic, and I worry that Middlebury will have its hands full tomorrow night in what should be a quiet gym unless you cajoled a bunch of Panther fans to join you. Middlebury needs to bring its A game tomorrow night in order to advance, but that's the deal for all of the 8 remaining teams. There would be nothing more gratifying than 2 NESCAC teams in Salem on opposite sides of the bracket.

Glad you listened to the family and made the road trip to Rochester (by the way, your wife really gets it/you--you're very lucky!). You don't get the chance to go down the road too often. Hope the Little Guy's team gets a W tomorrow night so that you can watch him in the finals later this week.