MBB: NESCAC

[magicman]

Middlebury leads Amherst at the half by a 34-30 score.

Joey Kizel comes alive late in the half as he scores 8 points in the final 6 minutes to lead the Panthers with a total of 9 points. James Jensen has 7 and Dylan Sinnickson has 6.

David Kalema and David George both have 8 points to lead Amherst. Tom killian has 6.

Back and forth game for the first 7 minutes before Amherst up 11-10 with 14:34 left in the half went on a 12-1 spurt to open up a 23-11 lead with 10 minutes to play. Middlebury fought back and chipped away at the 12 point lead. The Panthers used an 18-5 run of their own and regained the lead on a Joey Kizell three pointer to make it 29-28 with 4:16 remaining. They would extend the lead on a pair of free throws by Dylan Sinnickson and a 3 pointer by Kizell with 52 seconds left in the period would be the final points of the half.

[nescac1]

Amherst was up 12 early, Midd came back to take a 4 point lead.  Amherst should be happy to be down 4, it really should be more except that Midd missed quite a few layups and a lot of open threes, and Amherst sat its two stars (Killian and Toomey) the last five minutes with foul trouble, which is when Midd made its big run.  Amherst is by far the quickest team in the NESCAC and their defense (like it was vs. Williams) is very disruptive, leading to a lot of rushed shots out of rhythm and turnovers by Midd.  You just can't throw long passes down the court vs. the Jeffs, they are too quick to the ball.  Midd did not help themselves with some careless, avoidable turnovers as well. 

For Amherst, George looks very, very good, perhaps he is better when he is the main man in the middle instead of off the bench.  Kalema has also been great, strong drives to the hoop, but was forced to do a bit too much once Toomey sat.  Toomey only played seven minutes after picking up two early fouls.  Hixon and Maker have different philosophies there as Maker will usually let his stars stay in with two fouls.  Seeing how different Amherst looks when Toomey sits just further shows how valuable he is -- the offense is just completely different when he is out, far less organized and efficient.  Green continues to struggle to find his range for Amherst. 

For Midd, Kizel was stellar and Jensen was very effective getting to the rim.  Sinnickson showcased his athleticism but had trouble with his outside shot.  Still, really fun player to watch.  Both Roberts and George were big inside presences on the defensive end. Midd really, really clamped down on defense in the last ten minutes of the half, Amherst got almost zero easy looks after slicing to the hoop with ease in the first ten minutes. 

This is very, VERY intense game with bodies flying all over the floor.  A bit sloppy as a result as two disruptive defenses have allowed very few clean looks and there have been tons of turnovers both ways. 

[Bucket]

Both teams playing with a ton of energy and intensity. Midd holding the 4-point lead despite shooting just 2-14 from three.

[magicman]

Amherst has opened up a 20 point lead and now leads the Panthers 78-58.

Live stats stopped working 3 minutes into the 2nd half so the Jeffcast is all you have at this point. Not sure how much time is left

[nescac1]

Amherst has looked scary good in the second half and very quickly went from down 4 to up 20.  I think playing like that, there is no one in the country I'd favor over the Jeffs.  The biggest difference is Toomey and Killian playing, and playing very well -- with those two out there, Amherst is the clearly superior team.  The Amherst offense is a completely different animal when Toomey is running the point, in addition to the tremendous scoring bursts he provides, he just gets the ball to guys in position for fairly easy scores, consistently.  So Hixon's decision to sit Toomey and trust his team to hang in paid off in a big way. 

For Amherst, Killian gets my vote for most improved player in the league.  He is certainly at worst a second-team all-NESCAC guy.  Toomey is obviously the NESCAC POY.  David George was a force inside on defense, and stepped right into Pollack's sizeable shoes as a starting center.  Those two are going to be quite the duo for the next few years.  David Kalema's perimeter defense was also key.  He is incredibly aggressive sticking to guys like glue and going for steals, yet is quick enough to get back in position despite his risky plays.  Killian/Kalema/Toomey are a dominant senior class.  As a Williams fan, I will be very, VERY happy to see that group graduate. 

Midd of course could have played better that half.  In particular they continued to be plagued by a lot of missed layups.  Jake Brown had some highlight-reel plays for Midd, but they just needed to convert more of their shot opportunities from both three and in the paint to stay competitive.  Part of that is Amherst's very aggressive defense which clearly pushes teams out of their comfort zone and leads to some rushed shots, but Midd certainly needs to make some of those shots if they hope to go far in the NESCAC tourney. 

[magicman]

Amherst defeats Middlebury 84-67.

[jumpshot]

amherst completely crushes Middlebury in the second half with excellent play as reported by NESCAC 1. Middlebury lost any influence on pace, spacing, shooting, inside play, and especially defense giving up many open three-pointers and drives off the bounce. Also a bit distracted and off-balance by physical attributes of amherst ---and, of course, not able to contain the fine play of Toomey.

P.S. NESCAC1's response to Frank in an earlier post accurately captures the resiliency and skill of the entire Williams team and staff thus far this season. Many knowledgeable observers have real respect for this year's team.

On to the tournaments ....

[amh63]

Nothing really to add.  Good job Magicman and NESCAC1   Some minor observations to add.  Kizel's 3 near the end of the half made it 34-30, Panthers.  Connor Gach, a senior shooter started, since it was Senior day.
Agreed, it was when Aaron started the 2nd half that I felt Amherst would be ok in the game.....even when one of the announcers remember being up 14 in the game last year in the 2nd half only to have the Panthers tie the game.
Really impressed with Aaron's passes to the big men inside for layups....his rebounds.  Surprised that he missed two foul shots.  The announcer that played on the team last year was worried when Aaron missed the first of two foul shots....started pointing at the number of possessions left, especially when a Midd player hit a three and the lead went under 15....only to have Toomey respond with a three unguarded. 
Agreed that Kalema and Killian are too quick for Middlebury as they seem to drive pass players for layups.  Green just bullies his way in at times.  Toomey also drives....but gets fouled.
When Amherst starts to hit the outside shots...Kalema, Green, Killian and Toomey, the lead grew quickly.  Middlebury seemed to then rush shots....players went more on their own it seemed to me.

Pollack was in street clothes....seems to have a back problem.... remember that was what slowed him early in the season.  A week of rest will be good.  Colby coming to town!

[nescac1]

Well, this is a weird story -- legendary retired Colby coach coaching again, after the Thomas coach was fired following a "really profane ejection."  Wow, that must have been some tirade!

http://www.d3hoops.com/notables/2014/02/whitmore-back-in-division-iii

[Pat Coleman]

Apparently, and apparently not the first incident.

I was told it was not at all a physical confrontation, just verbal.

[grabtherim]

If henceforth in 2014 any good team (and all the teams in the NCAA playoffs are at least good) should score as many as a paltry 75 points in a game vs. Williams, then in Williamstown it will be time to consider pitchers and catchers.

"Frank, I guarantee that some team will score more than 75 points vs. Williams again this year. Likely more than one.  If Williams keeps scoring 90, that won't bother me a bit."

He was so caught up and impressed with himself by using the word "henceforth" on a message board that the rest of his post was bound to be illogical.  "Henceforth", Frank should be known as Joe Namath.  I "guarantee" it. 

[Dave 'd-mac' McHugh]

It was a crazy week in basketball not only on the court, but off it as well. Pat Coleman joins me to talk about two interesting coaching moves and what the last two weeks of the regular season has in store for everyone.

We will also talk to #7 Amherst MBB coach Dave Hixon and hopefully Amherst super-fan Mike Wohl (we hope) along with the following guests:

- #25 Texas-Tyler WBB coach Kevin Baker
- Castleton State WBB coach Tim Barrett
- Baptist Bible MBB coach Mike Show
- Rose-Hulman MBB Jim Shaw
- #21 Randolph-Macon MBB coach Nathan Davis

Show starts at 7 PM EST and will run at least 2:30 tonight.

You can tune in here: www.d3hoops.com/hoopsville/archives/2013-14/feb16

You can also follow us on social media
- Twitter (@d3hoopsville and #Hoopsville)
- Facebook (www.facebook.com/Hoopsville)
- Email (hoopsville@d3hoops.com)

Thanks and enjoy the show!

[amh63]

Got to check out Hoopsville tonight.....Coach Hixon and Walzy may make an appearance!  I'm excited

[grabtherim]

Congrats to Amherst on a well played game and a regular season league title.  Even though Midd made a nice run to end the first half, I wasn't feeling confident for the Panthers as Toomey sat most of the 1st after he picked up his 2nd foul.  Above and beyond how well Toomey plays, he makes others better in his case not only via creating for them but as much or more by the confidence he gives his teammates that he will produce at clutch times.  As a team, they will miss that dramatically next season.  With him on the floor as long as he doesn't try to do too much (with the supporting cast they have he doesn't  need to) the Jeffs will be a tough not only in the NESCAC but beyond in the NCAAs.       

[jayhawk]

At Amherst Game, for Middlebury the freshman Brown n is a talented super quick guard who will get better. Sinnickson very athletic and good out side shooter
Kizel is an excellent guard unfortunately picked up a couple of quick fouls early in 2nd half.

As noted Amherst did not play well in first half in part due to a couple controversial calls on Toomey who had 2 fouls and sat out for most of the half

In second half Amherst played very well.Toomey did an excellent job setting the table (offense). Killian was making left handed drives that he missed in the beginning of the year.
Best gane I saw David George play all year. Both Ben Pollack and Reid Berman did not suit today .

I never saw a team flop as much as Middlebury did today.

Saw Williams play yesterday they looked to be excellent