Coming into the final weekend, Amherst was tied for first place in the conference with both Trinity and Bates Colleges. The Jeffs however, were at something of a disadvantage, as their lone conference loss was against the Bantams. The loss meant that if Trinity won out, Trinity would earn the all-important home-court advantage throughout the conference tournament. This was a far different situation from last season when the Jeffs, undefeated in conference play, knew coming into the last weekend of play that two wins would secure them the top seed.
Despite the fact that the post-season situation was out of the Jeffs' control, the team insisted that they were focused on the task at hand, and would not be distracted by scoreboard watching that would detract from their play. "Our only concern this weekend is to get both wins and then after that worry where the NESCAC tournament will be held," said senior co-captain John Bedford before the games. "We can't get ahead of ourselves and worry about different scenarios because that is when we can lose our focus."
It became apparent early in the Bates game that Amherst would be having no issues with their focus, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. Guard Tim McLaughlin '07 had an outstanding defensive first half, racking up an unheard of five blocks, despite his comparatively meager 6' 4" frame. To offer some perspective, the Bobcats as a team totaled just three blocks in the game. The Jeffs managed to rack up a total of 11 rejections as a squad and as many pilfers while holding the Bobcats to just 32.7 percent shooting from the field.
Perhaps even more impressive was Amherst's offensive output against a Bates team that has consistently ranked among the best defenses in the country; a squad that and had allowed 70 points or more just twice on the season. Shattering that statistic, the Jeffs managed to pile up 47 points in the first half, largely due to the second chance points afforded by a 20-8 rebounding margin and a filthy 70.8 shooting percentage.
Although Head Coach David Hixon '75 went deep into his reserves midway through the second session, the gap never closed significantly, as Amherst held on for an authoritative 88-52 victory.
Forward Dan Wheeler '07 led the way statistically, scoring 21 points in only 23 minutes, just three nights after he had netted a career-high 24 points. He shot 8-10 from the field and 3-5 from the land of plenty. Bedford and sophomore guard Andrew Olson filled out the box score in their typical fashions; Bedford with 16 points, three boards and two assists and Olson with 13 points and five assists.
If the team was pleased with how they played, they got even better news as soon as they went into the locker room after the game. The Tufts University Jumbos had done them a major favor by beating Trinity on their home court, 84-80. With Bates and Trinity both suffering their second conference loss, the Jeffs were once again alone on top of the standings and in control of their own destiny.
They faced a tough challenge the following afternoon, however, playing the same Jumbos at LeFrak Gymnasium, where the regular season conference championship crown would be awarded to the winner.
The Jeffs got up for the occasion, completing their show of superiority by never trailing against the Jumbos, taking the game wire-to-wire for a 99-70 victory that was in hand halfway through the first session.
Amherst jumped out to a 33-13 advantage, making one excellent pass after another on the offensive end and managing to contain Tufts phenom center Dan Martin on the defensive side of the floor. Bedford had an excellent game even by his already high standards, scoring 29 points in just 32 minutes of action. Wheeler had his third-consecutive stellar performance, tallying 19 points. His superb outings against Lasell College on Tuesday and in the Bates and Tufts games earned him NESCAC Player of the Week.
The win clinched Amherst's second-consecutive regular season conference championship and their third overall. They will host eighth-seeded Connecticut College at LeFrak Gymnasium on Saturday, with the winner advancing to the NESCAC semi-finals. Should the Jeffs win, the rest of the conference tournament will take place the following weekend at Amherst. In their only other meeting this season, Amherst handled Conn. with relative ease, winning 83-52.
In the event that Amherst wins the conference tournament, they will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Div. III Tournament. If they lose, they will likely still receive an at-large bid, but their chances of hosting a game in the regional round will diminish significantly. Currently, the Jeffs are the top-ranked team in New England.
NESCAC Notes
Of the 10 NESCAC teams, only Middlebury College and Wesleyan University failed to quality for the postseason tournament. The top-four seeds went to, in descending order, Amherst, Trinity, Tufts and Bates. Each of those teams will host a quarterfinal match-up next weekend, with the highest remaining seed hosting the remainder of the tournament the following weekend.
Trinity will host Colby College, Tufts will play Williams College and Bates will play Bowdoin College. If all four top seeds win their quarterfinals it is conceivable that they could all receive bids to the NCAA tournament, which has expanded to 60 teams this season.