Seeded fourth in the NESCAC tournament, they came out with all the strength and aggressiveness of a championship team and successfully proved they were the best team in the conference.
Amherst opened the tournament with a win against Williams College last Tuesday. In the semifinals of the tournament the Jeffs took on second seeded Colby College on February 23rd.
The Jeffs started slowly, but they began to heat up late in the first half. Colby started strong, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, but it would be the only lead that they held in the game. The White Mules had trouble connecting from the field and behind the line, sealing their fate early on.
In fact, neither team had a great shooting night, with Colby only making a third of their shots and Amherst only 35 percent.
The difference in the first half was the three-point shooting by the Jeffs. Amherst made six shots from behind the arc in the first half alone, outscoring Colby 18-3. Their impressive three-point prowess led the Jeffs to a 30-19 lead at half time. The White Mules were unable to keep up.
The Jeffs also connected consistently on their foul shooting, making 86 percent of their free throw attempts in the first half. They finished 14 of 19 for the game.
Coming out of the break, Amherst kept up the intensity and extended its lead, going on an 8-4 run to start the half.
Colby got within four with under 10 minutes to play, but Tri-captain Brian Daoust '01 hit two of his three three-pointers on the night and added another four points on two layups to spur a 14-3 run that put Amherst out of reach. Colby never threatened again.
Four Jeff players finished in double figures, led by Daoust, who scored 13 points.
Pat Fitzsimons '03 had a strong game under the basket, pulling down 16 rebounds and scoring 11 points. Forward Steve Zieja '03 added 12 points and standout Adam Harper '04 finished with 10 points on 3-3 shooting from behind the arc.
With the win against Colby behind them, the Jeffs faced top-seeded Trinity College on their home court the next night.
Daoust was on fire in the first half, leading the team with five three-pointers in the first 20 minutes alone. The most impressive of the bunch was an NBA distance three-pointer with less than a minute left in the first half.
Despite the heroics of Daoust, Trinity stayed close for the half and the Bantams took a two point lead into halftime.
The second half began with the same close play, with the two teams trading baskets back and forth, but after nine minutes Amherst stepped it up and blew the game open with a 15-4 run.
This time it was forwards Zieja and Fitzsimons who sparked the run, giving the Jeffs a 71-61 lead with less than seven minutes remaining.
After the run, it was mostly their eight-for-11 foul shooting that kept the Jeffs on top, although a final three-point play by Fitzsimons, with 50 seconds left to seal the victory, did help.
The real key to the win, however, was the outstanding performance from the starting five players along with solid play from the bench.
Daoust ended with 24 points, Zieja finished the game with 20, and Fitzsimons scored 22 points along with 14 rebounds.
Coming off a great week with dominating performances against both Colby and Trinity, Fitzsimmons was awarded the NESCAC Player of the Week on Monday.
Zieja and Fitzsimons were also 8-10 on foul shooting, an important statistic in a game that was tight until the final minutes.
Ryan Faulkner '03 attributed the win to "hard defense throughout the game. Offensively, Pat Fitzsimons was dominant inside and the three-point shooting by Daoust helped us secure a lead at the end of the game."
Faulkner, the starting point guard, also had a fantastic game. He finished with a game-high 11 assists, six points, and only one turnover while also playing stifling defense.
Off the bench, Pat Taverna '02 added six points, while Harper had four points and three steals.
In addition to their offensive success, the Jeffs played stifling defense throughout the game. Trinity's leading scorer, Colin Tabb, was held to just four-for-19 shooting in the game.
Trinity's record fell to 18-6 with the loss. They did not receive an at-large bid to the tournament, so effectively their season is over, although they are hoping for a bid from the ECAC Tournament.
The Jeffs, however, after sweeping the NESCACs have earned their fourth trip to the Tournament and on Thursday night will host St. John Fisher College.
St. John Fisher is a college in Rochester N.Y. and a team the Jeffs have never played.
Fisher is making their seventh trip to the NCAAs after clinching the Empire 8 Conference Championship and finishing their season with a 17-8 record.
If the Jeffs can beat St. John Fisher they will travel to Worcester, Mass. to take on Clark University. Clark finished the year 22-4, including a thrilling 118-111 triple-overtime victory over the Jeffs in November. Daoust finished that game with a career-high 39 points before fouling out in the final overtime period.