The Jeffs, having suffered their first loss of the season against Trinity College the previous week, hoped to turn things around with a definitive win in the first round of the NESCAC Tournament. Instead, they slumped out of the gates against the Bobcats, who led by double-digits halfway through the first period. Amherst seemed to have no answer for Bates' fantastic senior duo of forward Rob Stockwell and point guard Zak Ray. The tandem, on a mission to extend their illustrious careers for at least one more game, accounted for 26 of the Bobcats' first 32 points. Meanwhile, the Jeffs could not find any rhythm on the offensive end of the floor. The Jeffs reverted to taking ill-advised threes rather than looking for higher percentage shots. Senior co-captain forward Dan Wheeler nearly single-handedly kept Amherst in contention in the first half, scoring 11 points in 15 minutes.
The Jeffs slowly closed the gap to three points, but just before the half Ray hit a three-pointer to give his squad a six-point edge and the momentum going into the half. A second consecutive loss would have been devastating for Amherst, jeopardizing their chances of hosting in the NCAA Tournament and preventing them from winning their third consecutive NESCAC Championship.
"I think that we were not mentally prepared for the start of the game against Bates," said junior center Kevin Hopkins. "It took us awhile to get our heads into it and to get our focus. Luckily we were able to keep ourselves close enough to make a run and get back into the game."
The second half did not start with promise, as Ray immediately got back to work, scoring on a lay-up and converting the three-point play after being fouled. Again, Amherst hung tough, as Hopkins responded with a dunk, and forward Brian Baskauskas '09 had a three-point play of his own.
The turning point of the game, and perhaps the Jeffs' season, followed next. Still trailing by two, and having not held a lead the entire game, Wheeler connected on a three on the next possession, giving Amherst its first advantage. Also, a rare simultaneous off-the-ball foul was called as a Bates player ran through a screen. This gave Amherst the ball back, and off the inbounds Wheeler squared up again in the same spot and knocked down another three. Bates coach Joe Reilly, irate at the call, picked up a technical foul. Point guard Andrew Olson '08 knocked down both technical free throws to give the Jeffs the exceedingly unlikely eight-point play. All of a sudden, after trailing by two, the Jeffs led by six.
More importantly, the team looked as though it had regained its air of invincibility. Stockwell was out of the game for most of the second half for Bates, having picked up his third and fourth fouls of the game in the first 90 seconds of the second half. As a result, Reilly took Ray off of Olson on the defensive end to prevent his other scorer from getting in foul trouble. This allowed Olson to go wild offensively, scoring 17 points in the second half, including a dagger of a three-pointer with two minutes remaining that gave Amherst a six-point lead.
The Jeffs went on to win 72-68. Ray finished with 21 points in his last game with the Bobcats, while Stockwell added 16. The Jeffs were led by Olson's 17 points and eight dimes, enough to earn him NESCAC Player of the Week honors. Wheeler also had 17.
With the win, Amherst advances to the semifinals of the NESCAC tournament. They will host fifth-seeded Colby College this Saturday. The Jeffs defeated the Mules in Waterville, Me., earlier in the season by a score of 69-58. Colby is led by two dangerous players in Drew Cohen, reigning NESCAC Defensive Player of the Year, and Nick Farrell, the NESCAC's leading scorer who averages over 20 points a game. "Our biggest strategy against Colby is to come out ready to play from the tip-off," said Hopkins. "After that we are mostly going to worry about ourselves and playing our own game."
Should the Jeffs advance to the final, they will host again on Sunday and play the winner of Williams College versus Trinity. The Jeffs lost two weeks ago to the Bantams on a last-second trey by point guard Pat Martin. Amherst has comfortably defeated rival Williams twice this year. "Obviously it would be great to have a chance to redeem our only loss of the season against Trinity," said Baskauskas. "But playing an archrival like Williams in a championship game would be a great opportunity as well."
Saturday's game will be in LeFrak Gymnasium at 2:00. Should the Jeffs win, they will play for the NESCAC Championship the next day at noon.
NESCAC Notes
Of the four remaining teams, only Amherst and Trinity can afford a loss and still expect to gain a bid into the NCAA Tournament. The Jeffs are currently ranked third in the nation, while the Bantams are ranked 20th. In order for Colby or Williams to make the NCAA Tournament, they would likely have to win the NESCAC Tournament.