To be sure, neither Colby nor Bowdoin are particularly talented teams–the two schools combined sport a 1-9 conference record–but as Tufts and Bates observed firsthand this weekend, anything can happen in the NESCAC, particularly on the road. Indeed, the Jeffs very nearly suffered a similar fate in their Friday matchup against Bowdoin.
Stymied by a dreadful 1-14 shooting performance from three-point range, Amherst found itself on the wrong end of a 36-30 score at the half. The Jeffs found their range in the second half, however. Amherst opened up the final frame on a 6-0 run to erase Bowdoin's advantage and went on a 5-0 run a few minutes later to secure the lead for good. The pesky Polar Bears kept the game relatively close the rest of the way, but Head Coach Dave Hixon '75 and crew were able to escape with a 69-60 victory.
The story of the game for Amherst was the exceptional play of senior co-captain Andrew Schiel. After some relatively inconsistent play earlier in the year, Schiel has come on like gangbusters in recent games, and the big man's 12-16 effort from the floor was good for a game-high 26 points. John Bedford '06 contributed an additional 19 points to the cause.
Schiel and Bedford would once again lead the way for the Jeffs in the following day's matinee at Colby. This talented duo poured in 19 points apiece in a game in which the Jeffs shot 53.3 percent from the field. The White Mules were actually able to keep pace with their guests in the first half due to a 52 percent shooting percentage of their own, and Amherst could only claim a 40-33 advantage at the intermission. But the Amherst offense quickly left Colby behind in the second half, and the Jeffs were able to cruise to a comfortable 85-58 victory.
Last night the Jeffs survived a scare from a very tough and athletic squad from Brandeis University. Brandeis' 11-7 record can be misleading because the Judges are a young team that is not always able to play to its full potential. But Brandeis had no trouble finding its "A" game last night. Despite shooting 50 percent from the field in the first half, Amherst found itself trailing by three, 36-33, at the break, as Brandeis was more than able to keep up with its host.
The game was neck-and-neck throughout the final frame as well, with upset-minded Brandeis leading much of the way. With just about two minutes left in the game, Amherst pulled ahead 63-61. While there was a lot of fast-paced action during the game's final two minutes, neither team could but the ball in the basket. With only a handful of seconds remaining on the game clock, the Judges hoisted up a potential game-winning three-pointer, but the shot sailed wide left, much to the relief of the nervous crowd in LeFrak Gymnasium. Andrew Olson '08 calmly drained both his free throws at game's end to give Amherst the 65-61 victory.
John Bedford led all scorers with 19 points in this difficult midweek, non-conference game right before Williams weekend.
"We are the number-one ranked team in New England, so we know every team coming in here will be prepared and motivated to beat us," said Bedford. "We just have to play hard and compete whether it is a conference game or not."
This Friday the Jeffs will play in their most eagerly-anticipated regular season game of the year as they take on the hated Ephs of Williams College. Back on Jan. 8, Amherst notched its first victory over Williams in Chandler Gymnasium since 2001. The Jeffs never trailed in this non-conference game, and despite a late charge from the Ephs, held on for an 88-78 victory.
Williams has been the team to beat in the Northeast for several years now, having won the National Championship in 2003 and coming up one basket short of a repeat showing last season, but the Ephs have struggled to replace their vaunted class of 2004. Michael Crotty, Ben Coffin and the largely unsung Chuck Abba were true stalwarts for Head Coach Dave Paulsen the past four seasons, and their absence has been difficult for Williams to bear.
The Ephs entered their home game against Amherst with an 11-2 mark, but have gone just 3-3 since losing to the Jeffs. But even though they are currently languishing in sixth position in the NESCAC with a 2-3 conference mark, it is unlikely that anyone on the Amherst team will take Williams lightly. Led by Tucker Kain and Jaris Cole, the Ephs are a talented team that has simply struggled at times on defense and at the point guard position. Williams will certainly come to play on Friday because a win against Amherst can help the Ephs turn their season around and set them up for a legitimate run at the NESCAC Tournament later this month.
"No matter what our respective records are, the Williams-Amherst game is still going to be our biggest game of the year and their biggest game of the year," said Bedford.
The next day, Amherst will host Middlebury College. The Panthers-who are currently 1-4 in NESCAC play and 6-12 overall–have been at the bottom of the NESCAC for several years now. However, this year's schedule works to Middlebury's advantage, as the Jeffs often suffer a letdown-win or lose-after playing an emotionally charged rivalry game against the Ephs. Indeed, the last two times-in 2002 and 2001-Amherst has played Middlebury the day after playing Williams, the Panthers have come away with the upset. The past two years, Amherst has had the advantage of playing Panthers on Friday evening, 20 hours prior to taking on Williams, but that will not be the case this week, so Jeff fans ought not dismiss the lowly Middlebury team as they otherwise might have.