On Friday night, Amherst takes on the University of Rochester, and the winner of that meeting will return to LeFrak the following evening to take on either St. John Fisher College or SUNY-Potsdam with a trip to Salem, Va., and the NCAA Final Four on the line.
Just two years ago, Amherst squared off against Rochester in a Sweet 16 showdown at Chandler Gymnasium in Williamstown. Amherst prevailed 74-68, and while the Jeffs are a much different team now, Rochester is, in many respects, not so different from the team it was just a couple of years ago. Now, as then, the Yellowjackets are led by their dominant post player, Seth Hauben. Hauben has put together a remarkable four-year career in upstate New York, having amassed over 1,600 career points and over 1,000 rebounds. Although much of Hauben's supporting cast has changed over the last two years, he is still surrounded by a group of athletic players who can rebound and shoot from the outside.
"They have some kids who can really shoot the ball, and with Hauben they are obviously tough to defend, but they have to play us too," said Hixon. "We might not match up quite as well defensively [as compared with their last meeting in 2003], but we should be much better on offense."
To be sure, the road to Salem is a very challenging one, but as the host team, Amherst has to be considered the favorite to advance out of its section of the bracket. The Jeffs certainly look strong now, but for a moment this past weekend, Amherst's prospects seemed decidedly less auspicious.
While Amherst's 13-point win over Springfield turned out to have one of the biggest margins of victory of the games played last Saturday night, the Pride certainly did not make things easy on the Jeffs. Indeed, if not for the stellar play of the Amherst bench, it is quite possible that the team's season would already be over.
Particularly impressive was the play of reserve forward Dan Wheeler '07, who shot a perfect 6-6 from the floor to lead all Amherst scorers with a career-high 19 points. Not only was Wheeler on fire, but the sophomore from Minnesota seemed to show no compunction about stepping up and attempting difficult shots in critical situations. At one point midway through the second half, Wheeler accounted for 10 consecutive Amherst points, punctuated by a clutch three with 8:17 to play that doubled the Jeff lead from three to six. Springfield would not threaten Amherst again, as Wheeler's triple sparked a 13-0 Jeff run that would keep the home team up by double digits for the remainder of the game.
"I think one of our greatest strengths offensively is that we are so unselfish," said Wheeler. "It really makes it fun. If you are open, somebody will get you the ball. On Saturday I just happened to be the open man. Then, after I hit my first few shots, my teammates just told me to keep shooting."
Wheeler was not the only Amherst second-teamer to come through for Hixon. Fellow reserves Keith Zalaski '06, Tim McLaughlin '07 and Dan O'Shea '07 also provided the Jeffs with quality minutes and effort in a game in which Amherst needed to overcome foul trouble and an early deficit in order to advance to the Sweet 16.
The Pride opened the game by hitting a three-pointer on each of its first three possessions, and Springfield was able to jump out to a 16-5 lead in the early going. Amherst clawed its way back-ultimately taking a 44-38 advantage into the half-but the Jeffs would soon have to deal with foul trouble as well.
First-year phenom Andrew Olson, who was a fixture on the court during the NESCAC Tournament, was in foul trouble the whole game, forcing Hixon to rely heavily on backup point guard Zalaski. The unflappable junior had not seen a minute of playing time in three weeks, but Zalaski did a remarkable job of keeping the Jeffs together with Olson on the bench. In the end, Zalaski gave Hixon 21 solid minutes of action, recording two points, four assists and one steal, while committing just two turnovers.
McLaughlin and O'Shea also made valuable contributions to the victory, combining for eight points and 21 minutes of action.
After winning the NESCAC Tournament, Coach Hixon remarked that his one regret was not playing his reserves more; he definitely remedied that situation on Saturday. "We made a conscious decision that we were going to play [our reserves] anyway, regardless of the foul situation," said Hixon. "They all stepped up and gave us some good minutes and good effort on the floor."
While the bench deserves much of the credit for Amherst's win over Springfield, Hixon's star players turned in big games as well. Senior co-captain Andrew Schiel, who earlier in the week was recognized as NESCAC Player of the Year, finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. In his first season as a starter, John Bedford '06 continued the hot play that earned him First-Team All-NESCAC honors with a 17-point outing.
In addition to Schiel and Bedford, Olson and Coach Hixon were recognized by the other NESCAC coaches for their accomplishments this year. Hixon was named Coach of the Year, while Olson was tabbed as Co-Rookie of the Year, the first Amherst player ever to win that award.
Following a 6 p.m. game between St. John Fisher and SUNY-Postdam, the Jeffs will take on the Yellowjackets at 8 p.m. on Friday. Both games will be played in LeFrak Gymnasium.