This past Saturday, the men’s basketball team stepped into the midst of a rowdy Williamstown crowd for an Interterm-ending showdown against the 10th-ranked Ephs of Williams College. Any game against Williams brings with it added importance, but for this year’s seniors, the game had heightened significance. Going into Saturday’s game, the senior class sported a 7-0 regular season record against the Ephs, dating back from the 2004-05 season. In this eighth and final regular season match-up, the senior Jeffs were not destined to disappoint.
Shortly after the opening tip-off, Williams jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, which was followed by five minutes of frantic back-and-forth as the two squads traded baskets. Senior center Kevin Hopkins made his presence felt early, scoring 10 points in the first eight minutes of play. On the strength of assists from senior captain Andrew Olson and three-pointers from Brian Baskauskas ’09 and Steve Wheeler ’10, the Amherst backcourt complemented Hopkins’s low-post presence.
Late in the first half, Amherst received a boost from first-year Conor Meehan who, following an Eph shot clock violation, hit a three-pointer and then scored a bucket down low on consecutive possessions. The Jeffs closed the half strongly, with a jumper from Olson, followed by a block and fast break conversion by Hopkins. Going into halftime, Amherst led 40-32.
The second half started as the first half ended, with Hopkins scoring down low. Hopkins scored on the next trip with an impressive turn-around jumper, putting him well on his way to a game-high 20 points. The Ephs refused to go down easily, however, and a 6-0 run, coupled with a zone defense that boggled the Jeffs, resulted in a 48-48 tie early in the second half. But Amherst eventually figured out how to beat the stifling zone, nailing back-to-back three-pointers and slowly pulling away. The Ephs would never catch up.
When the final buzzer sounded, Amherst emerged victorious by a score of 86-70. Hopkins finished with six blocks in addition to his 20 points, and Olson had a strong performance as well, racking up 11 assists on only three turnovers. The free-wheeling, three-point-shooting duo of Wheeler and Baskauskas finished with 19 and 17 points, respectively—a career-high for Wheeler.
And of course, the seniors capped their four-year, regular season sweep of Williams. “Coach informed the senior class that we are the first class that he has ever coached who has not lost a regular season game to Williams in four consecutive years,” said Hopkins, “We have been lucky to have beaten them twice each year that I have been here.”
More important than these individual accomplishments is the team maturation that this latest win over Williams demonstrated. The Jeffs have not been flawless over the last month and a half. They suffered two tough losses to strong, nationally ranked, non-conference opponents, first to Brandeis University on Dec. 8 (72-62), and then to Florida Memorial University shortly after Christmas (86-79). “Our early losses stemmed from us struggling to find our identity as a team,” said Brandon Jones ’08.
Great teams show their mettle in how they respond to adversity, however, and so far, the Amherst Jeffs have responded exceptionally well: Since their loss to Florida Memorial on Dec. 27, they have won nine straight games and jumped out to a 4-0 record in the NESCAC.
“Overall, we had a very productive and successful interterm … Everyone on the team seems to have settled into a role, and we are playing our best basketball of the year,” said Baskauskas. “We have begun to find our identity, and I think it will pay huge dividends as we approach the stretch-run and enter the postseason. If we can gel and fully realize our potential, we will be able to be very competitive deep into the playoffs.”
The latest game against Williams reflected the team’s growth, with perfectly balanced inside and outside play. The post presence of Hopkins was fortified by three-balls from Wheeler and Co. in an offense choreographed by the team’s captain and point guard, Olson.
With six regular season games ahead of them, and a nine-game winning streak at their back, it certainly seems as if the Amherst College Lord Jeffs have found their identity.