While the selection committee did not release official seedings, d3hoops.com rates Amherst as the best team in the East which includes Gwynedd-Mercy and Franklin & Marshall Colleges as well as New Jersey City University, among others. On Saturday, the Jeffs will begin tournament play by hosting the winner of Thursday's contest between Castleton State College and Plymouth State University. Plymouth beat Castleton by 24 points earlier this year and is favored to advance. If the Jeffs win on Saturday, they stand a good chance of hosting a regional final the following weekend for the first time in school history.
The good news bestowed on the Jeffs by the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee Sunday night came just a few hours after Amherst suffered yet another disappointing loss to Williams at Chandler Gymnasium. This highly anticipated game was the culmination of a "Weekend of Revenge" for Amherst, as the Jeffs had the rare opportunity to avenge both of their two regular-season losses in one weekend of basketball. While Amherst prevailed in a hard-fought semifinal against Trinity, the Jeffs could not win the rematch of last year's thrilling NESCAC Championship game played at LeFrak Gymnasium, which Williams also won, 74-70.
Although they split the teams' two regular-season meetings, the Jeffs knew that this game would be more challenging as they would have to cope with a depleted bench: sixth-man John Bedford '06 was limited by a sore ankle suffered in the previous day's semifinal win over Trinity and seventh-man John Casnocha '06 was out of action entirely. Williams, on the other hand, was firing on all cylinders.
Ben Coffin showed why he is the class of the NESCAC with a dominant 26-point, 16-rebound performance and the Eph defense held the Jeffs to their second lowest offensive output of the year as Williams pulled away from Amherst in the second half en route to a solid 12-point win. Amherst for its part was plagued by unforced turnovers and poor shot selection all afternoon.
The first half of play was pretty even throughout, with Andrew Schiel '05 and Jaris Cole exchanging baskets in the early going. Williams accumulated the largest lead of the half, 30-23, with just over five minutes remaining before intermission, but Amherst responded quickly with a 6-0 mini-run to get the lead back within one possession. Amherst managed to finish the first half trailing by just 36-33 despite having an assist-to-turnover ratio of 5:8.
As with the first half, the second half began with the two teams exchanging baskets. A three-pointer by Tim McLaughlin '07 at the 12:11 mark gave Amherst a 49-47 advantage, but this would be the last time the Jeffs would lead all game. Bob Cousy Award Finalist Michael Crotty scored three of his 10 points following McLaughlin's bucket to give the Ephs a lead that they would not surrender. Tucker Kain, who only played two minutes of the first half due to foul and back trouble, made his presence felt by tallying the game's next five points as Williams looked to be on the verge of pulling away.
But Amherst kept the game close up until about the six-minute mark. Down by five, Russell Lee '05 collected a long offensive rebound and was in position to bring the Jeffs within one possession of the lead. But Lee instead took an ill-advised jump shot which was emphatically rejected by Coffin. Crotty led the ensuing fast-break which was forcefully punctuated by a two-handed Coffin dunk. The Williams crowd went hysterical and the momentum was squarely with the hometown Ephs. Senior tri-captain John Donovan's three-point attempt was blocked on the subsequent possession, as Amherst stayed at least seven points behind Williams for the rest of the game.
Tri-captain Tim Jones '04 once again stepped up against Williams, finishing with 16 points while Schiel added 12 points and 10 rebounds. Amherst's eight assists on the game were matched single-handedly by Crotty. The question now remains as to whether Amherst and Williams are done competing against each other this season.
"Nothing would make us happier than having the opportunity to play Williams again, but it is nice that that would not happen until the Final Four," said Jones. "That sets up possibly the biggest Amherst-Williams game in history." Jones also added that "there is no doubt in my mind that we are a better team that Williams."
On Saturday, the Jeffs avenged an earlier 68-66 loss by beating Trinity 87-78 in the NESCAC semifinals. The story of this game was the unbelievable performance of backup point guard Russell Lee, who exploded for a career-high 27 points on 7-8 shooting. At times in the second half, Lee was a veritable one-man army for the Jeffs, accounting for 16 of the team's \irst 22 points of the final frame. But despite possessing a 16-point lead with just over five minutes remaining, Amherst could not obtain the critical win without first receiving a scare from the Bantams. But as tri-captain Adam Harper '04, Ray Corrigan '05 and Jones were all forced out of the game in the closing minutes with five fouls apiece, Trinity mounted a fierce comeback. The Bantams got to within four points with just under a minute to play following an improbable three-point bank shot by John Halas. But Amherst regained its form in the final minute, made its free throws and was able to advance to a fourth consecutive NESCAC Championship game.