The Jeffs stumbled out of the gate against the Bantams, falling behind 14-6 just five minutes into the game after Pat Martin and Kino Clarke nailed consecutive three-pointers. Senior quad-captain forward Dan Wheeler wouldn't let the Jeffs fall too far behind, however. He caught fire in the first half, scoring 16 points, including a dozen by the 10-minute mark. A strong run to close the half punctuated by consecutive baseline jumpers by center Brandon Jones '08 put the Jeffs ahead 32-24 heading into the locker room.
The two squads picked up the intensity after intermission, trading basket after basket. With just under 10 minutes to play, the Jeffs had extended their halftime margin and led 50-41. Trinity was able to crawl back in the game though, thanks to some scorching-hot three point shooting. Martin drained a trey to bring the game within four, and after an Amherst score, Clarke hit another long bomb to make it a one-possession game.
With under just over three minutes to play Robert Taylor III tied the game at 56-56 with a jumper. A free-throw from senior quad-captain Tim McLaughlin and a lay-up by sophomore forward Brian Baskauskas gave the Jeffs a three-point edge, but another Clarke three-pointer knotted the game at 59 with a minute left to play.
On what would be their final possession of the game the Jeffs went to Baskauskas, who was able to draw the foul coming off a screen. However, Baskauskas, a 62-percent free throw shooter, missed both shots. As a team the Jeffs were just 6-12 from the line compared to 9-13 for the Bantams. "Free throw shooting is a big part of every game and we have been working on it as a team every day," said junior center Kevin Hopkins. "It is one of the areas that our team could always improve upon, but hopefully we are doing other things right that can help make up the difference."
On the ensuing possession Trinity again went to the three, this time with Martin coolly knocking down the shot to give the Bantams a 62-59 lead with only three seconds remaining in the game. After calling a time-out, the Jeffs in-bounded the ball to miracle-man Andrew Olson '08, but his last-second prayer rimmed out, leaving Amherst on the losing end for the first time this season.
Martin led the way for the Bantams, scoring 18 points and notching 10 dimes for the double-double. Clarke scored 14 including 4-7 shooting from behind the arc. Wheeler led the scoring for the Jeffs with 16, but did not score in the second half. Olson, who was recently nominated for the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's best point guard, finished with nine points and 11 assists.
The loss, while a disappointing and anti-climactic way to finish the season, will not substantially hurt the Jeffs in terms of NESCAC or regional rankings. Amherst finishes the season with an 8-1 record. They will play Bates College, the eighth seed, in the quarterfinal round next weekend.
As for the team's prospects in the NCAA Tournament, the Jeffs are likely still the favorite to garner the top seed in the region. If they win the NESCAC Tournament they will receive an automatic (Pool A) bid. Even if they lose they will still likely receive an at-large (Pool C) bid. The advantage of winning the NESCAC Tournament-aside from the prestige and bragging rights-is that it would make the Jeffs far more likely to have home court advantage in the NCAA Tournament all the way until the Final Four.