In their first week of play since once again topping the D3Hoops.com Top-25 poll, the men’s basketball team put together a string of three more victories, clinching both the top seed in the NESCAC Tournament and the Little Three regular-season crown. The Jeffs easily dispatched the Anchormen of Rhode Island College at home on Tuesday night and, riding the momentum of their winning streak, they pulled out two road victories over the weekend against NESCAC opponents Connecticut College and Wesleyan University.
Tuesday night’s victory over Rhode Island turned out to be the Walters and Jones show. Seniors Fletcher Walters and Brandon Jones combined for 56 points in the win, with Jones tallying a career-high 30 points and Walters matching his career-high of 26. Jones shot 6-for-6 from behind the arc in the first half alone.
“The RIC game felt like a dream,” said Jones. “I remember making the first few threes and feeling like I was watching a movie. I guess RIC felt they had to make some choices defensively. This time I was the benefactor.”
On the strength of Jones’ and Walters’ impressive individual performances, Amherst put the game away early, jumping out to a 19-4 lead in the first five minutes and extending that lead to 53-31 by halftime. The second half featured more of the same, with Rhode Island never closing the gap to single digits. A full-court press by the Anchormen only backfired, as the Jeffs skillfully broke the pressure and converted easy buckets. In the final two minutes of the game, the Amherst bench players stole the show with a play worthy of SportsCenter: a tremendous dunk by junior Mike Holsey on a one-handed scoop pass from Marcus Bradley ’09. Ultimately, Amherst walked away with a 97-63 win.
On Friday night, the Jeffs traveled to Conn. College for a NESCAC matchup against a feisty—yet struggling—Camels squad. In the first half, the Camels remained competitive, as both teams shot an impressive 56 percent from the field; at halftime, Amherst led by only eight points. The second half, however, was a different story. The Jeffs came out of intermission and immediately went on a 23-4 run, blowing the game wide open. Conn. College never recovered from the Jeff offensive outburst, and Amherst led by as many as 27 points in the second half. Five Amherst players ended up scoring in double digits, with Walters amassing a game-high 23 points, and the Jeffs held on for a convincing 80-62 victory.
Following Friday’s road win over Conn. College, Amherst headed to Wesleyan on Saturday for the final Little Three contest of the regular season. It was also the second time the two teams have met this season; in the first match-up, a preseason game at Amherst on Jan. 8, the Lord Jeffs dominated, winning 85-63. This past weekend’s game proved to be more competitive, however.
As in their first game against the Cardinals this season, Amherst jumped out to an early lead, only to see it nearly evaporate by halftime. At one point, the Jeffs led 22-10, but by intermission, the Cardinals had closed the gap to 34-30. At the onset of the second half, the Jeffs went on a quick run to go ahead 42-31 and seemed ready to run away with the game. But Wesleyan battled back, pulling within one point with seven minutes left in the contest. The Cardinals could never take the lead, however, and the 53-52 score at the seven minute mark was the closest they ever came. Soon after, Amherst went on a run of its own, catalyzed by junior Brian Baskauskas, who scored 10 points in the game’s final seven minutes. By the 2:40 mark, Amherst led 70-58 and had the game back under control. The Cardinals did not again threaten, and Amherst emerged with a 78-67 victory and a perfect Little Three regular season record of 4-0.
Baskauskas and captain Andrew Olson ’08 led Amherst scorers against Wesleyan with 16 points apiece, with Olson also tacking on seven assists. Walters raked in an impressive 15 rebounds and also added 10 points for his sixth double-double of the season.
With the win over Wesleyan, Amherst improved its NESCAC record to an impressive 8-0, enough to secure the top seed in the fast-approaching NESCAC Tournament. The win also extended Amherst’s winning streak to 14 games. “This weekend was great for us, since we were able to get two road wins and secure hosting rights throughout the NESCAC Tournament,” said Baskauskas. Jones also stressed the importance of securing home court advantage. “In a game where you sometimes need a little bit of good fortune to advance, being at home may make all of the difference,” he said.
Pleased as they are to have secured the NESCAC top seed, the team will not overlook their final game of the season against Trinity College this Saturday. The Jeffs hope to extend their winning streak and carry that momentum into the playoffs. “While we are looking forward to a successful postseason run,” explained Baskauskas, “this game means more to us than anything else right now.”
For the seniors, the regular season’s final game has added importance: Trinity is the only team to have beaten them more than once in their four years at Amherst. As Jones pointed out, beating Trinity this Saturday will ensure that the seniors leave Amherst with “a winning record against the only team to beat us more than once in our career.”