Amherst and Bowdoin entered last night's contest with reasonable familiarity with one another, as the Jeffs defeated the Polar Bears, 85-79, in a hard fought affair this past Friday. While the game wasn't exactly pretty, Amherst did what it had to do to advance to the next round.
"Things weren't always clicking for us against Bowdoin, but we were still able to make plays," said tri-captain Steve Zieja '03. "Good teams just find a way to win."
The game went back and forth throughout the first half and most of the second when, with a little over two minutes to play in regulation, sophomore sharpshooter John Donovan hit two consecutive three-pointers, including one that resulted in a four-point play. Donovan's play extended what had been a two-point Jeff lead to nine. The Jeffs controlled the game from there and went 7 for 10 from the charity stripe in the final 90 seconds to counter two late Bowdoin triples in order to earn the 71-61 win. Donovan displayed remarkable self confidence with his final two three-point attempts of the evening, as he was 0-9 from the field before his late game heroics.
"You don't really think about [a shooting slump] when you are taking a shot," said Donovan. "On the first three I came cleanly off the pick and got a good look. It just felt good the whole way."
Despite the fact that Donovan hit the game-winning shot, Zieja's play was most important for the Jeff win. Zieja torched the undersized Polar Bear team for 29 points, going 8 for 14 from the floor and 11 for 13 from the free throw line. For most of the second half, it was Zieja who kept the Jeffs in the game while his teammates struggled to find their shooting form.
"I expected a big night from Steve, given the way he matches up with Bowdoin and the player he is," said Head Coach Dave Hixon.
Amherst's victory came despite an impressive shooting day for Bowdoin. The Polar Bears shot 48 percent from the field in the game, compared to the 36.7 percent performance from the Jeffs, including an incredible 56.5 percent in the first half. The smaller Bowdoin squad also outrebounded Amherst 35-29.
But Hixon's team countered by playing good fundamental basketball. The Jeffs committed a scant seven turnovers on the night and shot nearly 77 percent from the charity stripe.
The events of the past week could hardly have turned out better for Amherst. The Jeffs entered the week at 3-4 in NESCAC play and seemed to be flirting with disaster. A bad outing in their final weekend of regular season play, coupled with some other unfortunate occurrences, could have prevented the defending NESCAC Champions from defending their crown. Instead, Amherst won both of its games over the weekend and wound up with the number four seed and a first-round home game in the NESCAC Tournament.
Amherst started their weekend homestand with an 85-79 victory over Bowdoin on Friday. The win leveled the squad's conference record at 4-4 and also assured the Jeffs of a spot in the post season, lifting a heavy burden off of Hixon and company.
The Jeffs stormed out early against the Polar Bears, going up by as many as 18 points in the first half. Bowdoin fought back late in the period, however, as Amherst was up by a score of 44-33, halfway through the game.
Amherst maintained their double digit lead throughout most of the second half and seemed likely to cruise to victory until Bowdoin provided a scare late in the game.
Bowdoin senior guard Greg Orlicz hit a couple of big buckets to cut the deficit to four with less than two minutes to play. But Amherst was able to hold on for the win.
Adam Harper '04 led the Jeffs with 19 points. Zieja and Pat Fitzsimons '03 each had double-doubles, with Zieja posting 16 points and 11 rebounds and Fitzsimons tallying 18 points and 10 boards.
On Saturday, Amherst hosted Colby College. The Jeffs' 86-73 win over the White Mules on Senior Day, combined with a Bowdoin loss to Trinity, propelled the Jeffs to the number four seed in the NESCAC Tourney.
In Amherst tradition, Hixon gave the team's seniors the starting nod for their final regular season home game. Tri-captains Pat Taverna '02 and Paul Williams '02 and Mike Proctor '02, who have all seen limited action this year, started and played the game's first five minutes.
The trio combined for 10 points, two rebounds, two assists and a steal and left the game with a 15-6 Amherst lead. The Jeffs shot a sizzling 63 percent from the field in the first half and ended the first half with a 45-29 lead.
Amherst cooled off in the second half and Colby attempted what proved to be an unsuccessful comeback thanks to the efforts of their senior guard Damien Strahorn, who garnered 31 points off 21 shots.
In other NESCAC Tournament action last night, number six-seeded Wesleyan University upset number three seed Connecticut College, 75-61, while second-seeded Williams College crushed seventh-seeded Tufts University, 81-57.
While it won't count towards the already decided Little III Crown, this Saturday's rubber match between Williams and Amherst will be hotly contested.
Both teams won at home, with Amherst pulling out a stunning 72-70 overtime victory in LeFrak on Jan. 12 and Williams returning the favor the following week with a sound 74-45 drubbing of the Jeffs in Williamstown.