MBB: NESCAC

[nescac1]

Wang 3 in and out, Amherst gets ball, draws foul, up four with 30 to go.  Looking tough for Williams. 

[nescac1]

Amherst holds on at the end.  Great game played by both teams.  Toomey (in particular, lots of clutch, gutty plays, does NOT play like a frosh) and Kaasila were spectacular for Amherst, and Meehan played great down the stretch.  For Williams, Robertson showed how good he can be when he played aggressively, he dominated the game at times, just fantastic.  Wang also played like the all American he is, and Dodson had a strong game, but ultimately, the Ephs just didn't have enough balance of inside vs. outside.  Williams also uncharacteristically had a rough game from the foul line, including a few misses in big situations. Still, I was very impressed by how well they played in hostile territory, without the big guy (Williams' centers outscored 24-9).  These are definitely two of the top ten teams in the country, and are very evenly matched. 

Meehan/Toomey vs. Wang/Robertson is the best guard match-up you will see in D-3 all year.   

[amh63]

Cannot have stated it better than nescac1's posting of the game and the tension.  It was a packed house with over 1200 fans.
Walzy....your numbers are good....if you take out the OT scoring....they would be right on.
Sorry about the web feed.....thought it was my computer.....Amherst needs to upgrade its hardware....but it is free! (Guess, I will have to make a donation!)
Anyway, where did this Robertson guard come from?  He was almost unstoppable late in the game.  Most interesting to see Coach Hixon go with both Kaasila and Holmes for a time.  Also the Meehan and Toomey guard combination was great.  Workman lived up to his "name".  He had the task to guard Wang for most of the second half and Wang still got 26 points.
Coach Hixon made some adjustments to stop Wang's drives......then Wang started to hit his 3's...along with other Williams' players.  It was tense indeed.....Meehan, Toomey....and Wiliamson...missing their foul shots.   Grateful that Williams was poor on the foul line.  
Williams' perimeter defense is strong.....better than I thought.
Bottom line, there is a rematch up in Williamstown coming up.  Hopefully, Waller and Whittington will both be in the lineup then.  There maybe other rematches in post season play.  It will be great for the fans....but maybe not for senior citizens, like myself.

[nescac1]

Amh63, Robertson had a few similarly big games last year.  He is a pass-first player and doesn't force the issue when not needed, but can really step up in important situations -- he had a similarly strong game in the national semifinals vs. Guilford last year.  I think Williams is at its best when he is aggressive on offense like that, because then there are three guys (including Troy there) that are almost impossible to guard one-on-one. 

I really did think Williams played very well, unlike their last two games without Troy (other than one half vs. Elms).  Amherst earned that one.  But, I too am looking forward to the rematch in Williamstown, when I think the interior stakes will be evened a bit.   If Wang and Robertson aren't the best backcourt in the nation this year (and Toomey and Meehan might challenge them there), I think they will be for certain next season.  I still think Williams when healthy is definitely a top five team -- I just think Amherst is, and has been, a bit underrated all season.  That will surely change in the next top 25 poll.  Those two and Midd will have more battles like this later in the year.  Fortunately for the Ephs, those two games are at home, but there are certainly no sure things in any of those games. 

[walzy31]

Amherst -4 Vs. Williams
Over / Under 149.5

End of Regulation Total: 148
Final Score Amherst 92 - Williams 89 (Williams Covers +1)

I really enjoyed that game. Wang was as impressive as always, and hit some absurdly challenging threes in the 2nd half and OT (and had one that was halfway down before popping out that would have been the most impressive and deepest of them all). Klemm was very quiet all game long until he scored 6 of his 10 points in OT on back to back threes. Dodson played very well. Saving the best for last, Robertson was outstanding.

For Amherst, it was a key win without Waller and essentially without Meehan for half the game (picked up his 2nd foul 2:45 into the 1st half and DNP until the 2nd half). Holmes and Pete were strong down low as nescac1 mentioned. Workman played 45 minutes out of the 45 minute game... his shots weren't falling but of the 13 he took, only one or two looked forced. Meehan came out in the 2nd half with fire in his eyes and made a few crucial buckets around the hoop, a three, and some big FTs late. Barisse hit two big threes and played 4+mins. Williamson had some very important rebounds including one that iced the game late. Tim Prowitt played his best game of his career with 5 pts and 10+ important minutes.

Aaron Toomey is THAT good and I had no idea. Wow. When he and Meehan were on the court together, it made the offense incredibly dangerous as both players are strong to the basket, can shoot, and make smart passes. Whttington would have blocked/altered some of the shots Toomey made, but it still does not take away from the game (21pts 8reb, 5ast, 2stl, 38min) that Toomey had in his first ever Amherst/Williams game. Impressive stuff.

There are going to be some phenomenal guard battles between Middlebury, Williams and Amherst this year (and in future years).

All of The Lights

[Bucket]

Middlebury improves to 10-0 with a 85-72 win over Skidmore.

In an extremely physical game (more on that later), Midd had too many weapons. If it wasn't Locke or Sharry inside, it was Thompson or Wolfin draining key buckets. Sharry and Locke both posted double-doubles and did their share of rim-rattling with some monster dunks. Sharry recorded 17 pts, 11 boards while Locke put up 15 and 13.

Thompson bounced back from a poor shooting night against Colby Sawyer to match Sharry with a team-leading 17 points. Wolfin added 12 and 4 assists.

Joey Kizel continued to play with the poise of an upperclassman, scoring 8 and pulling down 7 boards, while classmate James Jensen provided a nice spark off the bench.

Now, the physical nature of the game. I'm all for physical play, but I'll go ahead and say that Skidmore's play was borderline dirty. Three Middlebury kids ended the game with black eyes, with Wholey's injury looking like the most serious of the three (he didn't return after getting hurt and his eye was swollen shut after the game). Adding to my thinking here was what my wife heard while walking past the Skidmore locker room a halftime: the Skidmore coach imploring his team to "hit 'em harder, knock 'em around, knock 'em down."

Midd returns to the court against Lyndon State tomorrow, and my guess they will do so without Wholey and Jamal Davis (who was also out of action today). 

[Old Guy]

Bucket got it about right. Ugly game.

The Thoroughbreds strategy was sound, if questionable: take it right at the big guys on offense, get 'em in foul trouble (Sharry had three in the first half; Locke two or three). On defense, whack 'em, take what the officials will allow. Make them beat us from the line (where the Panthers shoot 64% as a team). Skidmore committed 32 (whistled) fouls in the game; Panthers were in the double bonus with a lot of time left in the first half (6-7 minutes).

The physical play disrupted the Panthers who committed 17 turnovers. 44-44 with five minutes gone in the second half. Skidmore refused to go away. Panthers shot 49 foul shots, made 32 (65%). Jamal Davis was absent (short-term personal leave), so frosh Jim Jensen picked up some of his minutes and made a contribution (six points). He's 6'5", and agile. Nolan Thompson had a nice game (three well-timed 3s). 

Sounds like a classic at Amherst. People there were lucky. Sports! The Jeffs are are back and for real. The rematch will be fierce. I might take a trip down Route 7 for that one.

[amh63]

Some random comments after a great weekend of BB in Lefrak.
The write up on the Williams' website has the coach praising his team's play in the lost.  Classy positive coach.
If you take away some of the Williams' fouls in OT (attempts to get the ball back in the last minute), the game was played very even.  Amherst had more rebounds, and Williams shot better. In such a close, tension filled game, there were few turnovers by both teams.  Neither team went to a zone defense (like Wesleyan did) and there were few transition baskets, if I could recall.  Really wish transition points are kept.
Did anyone else notice that Williams shot 50% overall in both halfs  and in overtime?  Numbers are fascinating.
Other than Middlebury's win, other teams in the conference had a so/so weekend. 
What is going on at Trinity these days?  Any posters/supporters from the Maine teams?
Walzy.....Not sure I can keep up with your generation's expressions, in spite of my hip-dressed sons.  Understood your last line in your posts......but am puzzled about "AT" in an earlier post.

[jayhawk]

A few additional comments to the fantastic game yesterday Williams and Amherst.
Maker is an excellent coach
Williams had a remarkable shooting percentage -getting jumpshots off the motion offense of Williams.
Nate Robertson possesses some slick moves off the dribble to get to the hoop.
Hayden Rooke Ley is an extremely tough and talented freshman at Williams.
For Williams, Whittington did not play which is obviously a great loss on the inside and for Amherst ,Waller was in street clothes.
Waller was playing well and can shoot the 3 and plays above the rim.
For Amherst, Toomey is a fantastic passer, slasher, and floor general. Both he and Wang had some very long threes.
Amherst is an extremely physical team more so than Williams. similar to Middlebury
Both Wang and Robertson have difficulty covering Meehan when he drives to the basketball. He is just much stronger.
Additionally, Meehan has significantly increased his ability to shoot outside shoots. His overall game is greatly improved as a result.
During the game Workman was switched onto Wang and reduced Wang's ability to drive.
Amherst backcourt of Toomey and Meehans is awfully good, Kaasila is getting more comfortable with excellent footwork done low and ambidextous hook shot. .

[jayhawk]

Of course Hixon is an excellent coach

[John Gleich]

When was the last time the highest ranked NESCAC team wasn't Williams or Amherst?  Maybe it's more recently than it seems... but it feels like the the Ephs and those offshoots 60 miles away have had a pretty significant hold on the top of the NESCAC (and, quite often, they've been near the top of the rankings).

[amh63]

Jayhawk........Like your keen observation and comments.  Your knowledge of the background of Amherst players from the NE region is most interesting.   Picked up on your point of Workman guarding Wang last year and it played out again this year.  There is a photo of the game yesterday that has Workman guarding Wang on a drive to the basket.  It can be found on the Williams web site.  Go to the Schedule/Result on the MBB section and look for the game and hit the photos spot.
Your " handle" is also interesting to me....I think of the U. of Kansas.  I guess you are a resident of the area.   
To the midwest poster......several years ago...Middlebury won the conference title.....beating Amherst in the title tournament game.  They won the regular season....in spite of losing the last game of season in LeFrak......thereby they could host the tournament.   Whether they were ranked higher than Williams or Amherst in the "polls" is another matter.

[John Gleich]

To the midwest poster......several years ago...Middlebury won the conference title.....beating Amherst in the title tournament game.  They won the regular season....in spite of losing the last game of season in LeFrak......thereby they could host the tournament.   Whether they were ranked higher than Williams or Amherst in the "polls" is another matter.

I looked because I didn't remember it... and it was 08-09.  The time before that was 01-02 when Trinity won, and then there was 00-01... when Coby, Trinity, and Wesleyan SHARED the regular season crown with Williams and Amherst.

[Bucket]

Yes, two years ago Middlebury finished the regular season atop the NESCAC standings and went on to win the NESCAC tourney. Middlebury was also ranked higher heading into the NCAA tournament. Amherst was 2nd in the conference, Williams third.

Last year, it was Williams atop the conference standings; Middlebury was second and also nationally ranked. Amherst was below middle-of-the-pack.

[Colby Hoops]

Didn't catch the Williams-Amherst game but seemed like quite a game.  I'd put Williams still as the favorites presuming Whittington is returning to full health at some time before the postseason.  If not, I think all three teams are extremely close.  With Whittington I'd rank it Williams, Midd, Amherst.  Without I'd rank it Midd, Amherst, Williams.

On another note, interesting win for the Mules over Bates on Saturday.  Bates has really struggled of late, and for Colby to win with Russell only scoring 7 says a lot.  Colby got great games out of Eric Bealieu and Christian Van Loenen, as well as a solid performace from the freshman Orchingwa.  Bates struggling really separates the league.  The top 3 are as good as anybody in the country, but everyone else is hard to get any sort of a read on.  I'd guess Bowdoin is now the favorite for the number four seed.