Amherst set the tone early in Saturday's rematch against Williams, jumping out to a 23-6 lead. A three-pointer by shooting guard John Donovan '04 at the buzzer gave the Jeffs a 35-25 halftime lead.
Amherst was able to maintain its double-digit advantage early in the final half of play, but with about 10 minutes left in the game the Ephs rallied. Williams forward Tim Folan, who is working his way back into the Eph rotation following a preseason injury, drained three consecutive three-pointers to lead his team on a 13-1 run, putting Amherst's advantage at only 47-46 with just under eight minutes to play.
But Amherst, which never trailed the entire game, refused to let its rivals get any closer. The team was a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe down the stretch as the Lord Jeffs hung on for the critical six point victory.
Adam Harper '04 led the home team with 15 points, including a big three-pointer late in the game which doubled Amherst's lead. Tri-captain Steve Zieja '03 connected on seven of Amherst's final 10 free-throws, and his 13 points moved him to second on Amherst's all-time career scoring list just 33 points behind Jamal Wilson '97.
Tri-captain center Pat Fitzsimons, who was forced to sit out Amherst's earlier game versus Williams due to injury, posted 11 points for the Jeffs and provided a formidable presence in the paint. "I think the main difference with me in the game was that their guards weren't able to drive as much," said Fitzsimons. "I've been blocking a lot of shots this year, and I felt like they were more hesitant to penetrate as much with me in the middle."
Indeed, Eph point guard Michael Crotty, who led Williams against Amherst with 18 points in Williamstown, was held to just five points Saturday and 1-11 shooting thanks to strong defensive efforts by Fitzsimons and point guard Ray Corrigan '05.
Amherst now holds the tiebreaker over Williams, a team widely considered to be Amherst's only serious competition in the battle for NESCAC supremacy. If the Jeffs win all but one of their remaining conference games they will likely win the NESCAC and thus earn the right to host the NESCAC tournament for the first time in school history.
"Hosting the NESCAC tournament would be a great advantage because we would be in the comfort of our home gym for an additional three games," said Zieja.
But nothing can be taken for granted in the competitive NESCAC, a fact the Jeffs are keenly aware of, having lost to lowly Middlebury College the past two seasons. Amherst's next three games are all on the road at NESCAC schools with very solid basketball programs.
This weekend Amherst will travel to Tufts University and Bates College, which is currently tied with Amherst atop the NESCAC standings. The following weekend, the Jeffs travel to Hartford, Conn. where they will take on last year's regular season NESCAC champions, Trinity College.
Also, the availability of Fitzsimons for these games is something of a question mark at this point as the Amherst big man re-aggravated a leg injury this weekend. When healthy, Fitzsimons has arguably been the team's most valuable player this year.
"Our next three games will define us," said Head Coach Dave Hixon '75.
Amherst began its NESCAC slate with a trip to Maine to take on Colby and Bowdoin Colleges the week of Jan. 17. In recent years, talented Amherst teams have struggled early in NESCAC competition, but this year's veteran squad made sure to get off on the right foot, winning its first two games by a combined 60 points. Sophomore forward Andrew Schiel's career-high 27 points led Amherst to an easy 92-62 victory over Colby.
Amherst came out firing the following day as well, as the Jeffs drubbed the Polar Bears of Bowdoin 86-56. Bowdoin was no match for Amherst's balanced attack which featured four players with double figures in scoring, led by Zieja's 19 points.
After a convincing 94-65 midweek victory over Lasell College on Jan. 21, the Jeffs were able to prepare for an important weekend of basketball as they hosted Middlebury on Fri., Jan. 24 and Williams the following day. Although Middlebury has been a cellar-dweller in NESCAC basketball during the last few years, they have managed to upset the Jeffs in each of the past two seasons.
But Middlebury would not be overlooked this year. The Jeffs cruised to a 90-60 victory thanks in part to a 12-0 Amherst run early in the second half.
Zieja led all scorers with 25 points while center Pat Fitzsimons notched 10 points in only 15 minutes after missing the previous six games to injury.
Amherst began Interterm with a trip to Florida. During practice there however, Fitzsimons injured his hamstring and the Jeffs were forced to take on NAIA foe Webber International University without their starting center.
The host Warriors handed Amherst its first loss of the season, topping the Jeffs 77-69. Although Amherst had forced 25 turnovers, they had difficulty stopping Webster International, who shot nearly 60 percent from the field. Zieja led Amherst with 20 points, followed closely by Schiel's 16.
Three days after dropping their first game of the season, the Jeffs were back in chilly Massachusetts to host struggling Salve Regina University. Amherst wasted no time righting the ship as they built up a 23 point halftime lead en route to a solid 92-58 win. Twelve different players scored for Amherst as Hixon was able to empty his bench early in this easy win.
As he has all season long, Harper displayed a multidimensional game, finishing with 13 points and an amazing 10 steals in just 24 minutes of action.
On Jan. 8 the team traveled to Springfield, Mass. to take on Western New England College. The Golden Bears gave the Jeffs an unexpected scare when they took a 60-57 lead with just over five minutes left to play in the game. Amherst pulled together a rally led by the dependable Zieja, whose game-high 23 points included the go-ahead bucket late in the game.
Amherst had a poor day shooting from the field but was ultimately able to pull out the victory due to their success at making their way to the free-throw line. Amherst converted 33 of 45 foul shots while their opponents shot just 6-8 from the charity stripe.
The Jeffs traveled to Williamstown, Mass. on Jan. 11 to play the first of two annual Little III contests which are not counted in the NESCAC standings. The then-eighth-ranked Jeffs had to face off against the seventh-ranked Ephs without the services of center Pat Fitzsimons who was still nursing his injured hamstring.
Despite spotting their hosts a 15 point lead early in the second half, Amherst made a late game of it. A free-throw by Harper with 3:34 to play reduced the Williams lead to 65-63. The Jeffs were able to stay within striking distance for a brief period of time, but the Ephs went on a 7-0 run to close out the game and secure a 74-65 win.
Without Fitzsimons in the paint, Amherst was forced to rely more on their perimeter play, but the Jeffs managed only a paltry 4-20 shooting performance from three-point range.
"Watching the game up at Williamstown was one of the most difficult things I've had to do," said Fitzsimons. "Those games are always special and that one was particularly difficult because I felt like I could have made a difference in the game."
Harper led all scorers on the evening with 25 points, matching his career best from a year ago.
The following Tuesday, the Lord Jeffs traveled to Conn. to take on Little III rival Wesleyan University in Amherst's final game before commencing NESCAC regular season play. Schiel led five Jeffs in double figures with 20 points as Amherst took a 10 point lead at intermission and held on for a 92-77 win.
Amherst also had a very successful close to the first semester. The weekend of Dec. 6, the Lord Jeffs participated in the Pioneer Valley Classic, defeating both Springfield College and Westfield State University on consecutive days with final scores of 77-56 and 100-63 respectively.
Hixon and crew finished off their December slate with an 80-62 victory at Worcester State University on Dec. 10.