Then, in 2005, it seemed as though the Ephs suddenly fell off the the face of the Earth. Williams limped to a 16-9 record and went just 4-5 in the NESCAC. They lost twice to the Jeffs that year, including a 72-45 blowout in LeFrak Gymnasium. Close followers of the NESCAC began to wonder about coach Dave Paulsen's ability to recruit. For the next two seasons Amherst consistently rolled over Williams with little difficulty.
However, this weekend the Ephs served notice to Amherst and to the NESCAC as a whole that they are back. After beating Tufts University and Trinity College, the Ephs were able to pull off the upset of the Lord Jeffs with a 70-69 victory to claim the NESCAC Championship at LeFrak over the weekend.
Before this heartbreaking loss, Amherst advanced to their seventh consecutive NESCAC Championship by easily disposing of Colby College on Saturday. Senior quad-captain forward Dan Wheeler kicked off the game with a three-pointer and the team never looked back. Although the White Mules were able to keep pace with the Jeffs for the first seven minutes of the contest, eventually Amherst's defense locked in, allowing them to pull away for an easy victory. In the later part of the first half Amherst was able to hold Colby scoreless for three minutes, paving the way for 11 unanswered points and an 18-2 run. The Jeffs went into the break leading 50-30 with the Mules never coming closer than 18, as Amherst rolled to an 82-55 victory. Wheeler, who was recently nominated for the Josten's Award, led the way with 18 points and five rebounds. The Josten's Award is awarded by the Salem, VA., Rotary Club and honors the most outstanding men's and women's Div. III basketball players of the year. Forward Fletcher Walters '08 had a big game as well, scoring 17 points in 17 minutes and junior point guard Andrew Olson had 10 points and eight assists.
After Williams upset second-seeded Trinity, it set up the third championship meeting between the Ephs and the Jeffs in the seven-year history of the NESCAC Tournament. Amherst came out looking excited to avenge the previous two losses, jumping out to a 15-0 lead in the first six minutes of play. Sophomore guard Brian Baskauskas had two blocks during the stretch and the Jeffs forced five early turnovers. Kevin Snyder finally put Williams on the board with a three, but Wheeler responded with a trey of his own, and center Kevin Hopkins '08 added a lay-up on the next Amherst possession, giving the Jeffs a 20-3 lead and forcing the third Williams timeout in the first eight minutes of play.
Williams caught fire from behind the arc, however, especially point guard Chris Shalvoy. Coming out of the timeout he hit a three-pointer that ignited a 14-2 Williams run. The squads traded buckets for the remainder of the first half, and Amherst limped into the break with a six-point advantage.
The first few minutes of the second half the Jeffs were able to tread water, keeping their lead between six and eight points, but Shalvoy took the lead for the Ephs again, hitting consecutive threes to bring Williams within two. Shalvoy hit his first seven three-pointers of the game.
With just over 13 minutes remaining, Wheeler looked to help the Jeffs pull away, nailing his second three-pointer of the game to bring the lead back to six. However, the Ephs were able to match the Jeffs from beyond the arc all night, and on the next Williams possession, Tommas Golia hit a three of his own. Not easily discouraged, Wheeler came right back and hit another three, but once again, Golia answered with a three of his own.
After Olson hit a free-throw, Shalvoy made his fourth three of the game to bring Williams within one. Walters, however, showed that his hand was still hot from his 17-point performance the night before, and scored the next four points. Always ready with the answer, Shalvoy hit his fifth trey to tie the game at 56, and a Snyder jump shot gave Williams its first lead of the game.
Olson, who has so often been able to stop the momentum of opposing squads, gave the Jeffs the lead right back with a driving lay-up, but Amherst still had no answer for Shalvoy, who immediately responded with his sixth three of the game.
The Ephs took their largest lead when first-year phenom Blake Schultz hit a three to put Williams up 66-61, but once again, Amherst scrapped back and a pair of Tim McLaughlin '07 free throws tied the game at 66. Once again free throws by quad-captain Shalvoy was there for Williams, hitting a jumper to put the Ephs up by two. On the next possession the Jeffs went down low to Kevin Hopkins, who hit a lay-up and drew a foul for a three-point play the old-fashioned way, putting Amherst up 69-68 with less than a minute to play.
Down to their last possession, the Ephs went back to Shalvoy, who spotted up for a three to take the lead. Quad-captain guard Mike Salerno '07 and Walters both leapt toward Shalvoy to contest the shot, but that left no one under the hoop. When the shot fell short, Joe Geoghegan was there for the put-back, giving Williams a 70-69 lead with 16 seconds left.
After an Amherst timeout, the Jeffs gave the final shot to Wheeler, who went to his signature turn-around jumper, but the shot fell just short, and Williams was able to close out the 70-69 victory.
The story of the game was the Jeffs' inability to guard the perimeter, as the Ephs were 13-25 from behind the arc. Also, free-throws played a huge factor, as Amherst was just 15-25 from the charity stripe. "The loss obviously hurts a lot, but we have to be able to move on from it and realize that there is still so much to be accomplished," said Baskauskas. "We are going to gather ourselves and get prepared for a run deep into the NCAA Tournament, not dwell on one loss."
Despite the loss, Amherst received a Pool C, or at-large bid, into the NCAA Tournament. They will have a first-round bye and then host the winner of King's College and Widener College on March 3. Should the Jeffs win, they will advance to their sixth consecutive Sweet Sixteen.
NESCAC NOTES
Both Williams and Trinity advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Trinity will play Brandeis University in the first round, and could potentially meet Amherst in the Elite Eight. Williams will play SUNY Brockport in the first round. Since the Ephs were shipped out of region, they can only meet Amherst if both teams advance to the Final Four.