The week’s first stop was at Westfield State, where the 13th ranked (Division III) Lord Jeffs won by a comfortable 18-point margin, 86-68.
Senior tri-captain Steve Wheeler notched 20 points, including four treys from beyond the arc, to pace the Amherst attack, while 6’6 sophomore forward David Waller put in 18. The game remained relatively close at halftime, with Amherst leading 36-31; but, following the template of their first two victories, the Lord Jeffs came alive to dominate the second half, going on a 23-3 scoring spree within the first five minutes after intermission. Sharpshooters Wheeler and Waller scored 24 of their combined 38 points in the second half, with timely contributions coming from junior tri-captain Conor Meehan (10 points) and sophomore guard Taylor Barrise (11 points, 7 boards) and a strong rebounding effort from junior forward Jeff Holmes (6 points, 7 boards). The Lord Jeffs shot a healthy 52 percent overall from the field and 75.8 percent from the foul line. Westfield guard Anthony Griffin matched Wheeler’s scoring with 20 points of his own, but it was not enough for the previously undefeated Owls, who fell to 4-1.
Seventy-two hours later, Coach Hixon’s young squad again hit the road, this time traveling to Elms College where the Blazers handed the Lord Jeffs their first loss of the season, 88-79, and their first Pioneer Valley Classic loss ever. Amherst fell behind early and never caught up in a contest where they trailed 47-38 at halftime. Despite a better second half effort from the Lord Jeffs and a series of back and forth momentum surges that saw Amherst pull to within three at 51-48, the Blazers promptly responded by building their lead to 13 with a 10-0 scoring spree of their own. With the clock working against them, Amherst cut the deficit to six, 73-67, with just over a minute remaining, before the Blazers put the game out of reach from the charity stripe.
Offensively, Meehan led Amherst with 21 points, while Wheeler added 15. Barrise and first-year guard Allen Williamson contributed 10 points each in the losing effort, with Williamson also securing a team-high eight rebounds. Elms was paced by senior forward Javon Mathis, who managed a double-double, with 22 points and 10 boards. The disparity in team fouls and free throw shooting was plainly the real story of the game, with the Blazers netting 32 points on an astonishing 45 free throw attempts, while Amherst connected on barely 7 of 13 from the line.
Still playing on the Elms campus in the tournament consolation match, the Lord Jeffs easily handled the Springfield College Pride the following day, 80-61. True to form, Amherst started slowly, but a 16-3 scoring drive, led by Meehan, saw their lead balloon to 13 by intermission. In the second half, Amherst yet again stepped up their game to maintain a double-digit lead for the duration of the contest, despite a great individual performance from Springfield guard Pat Crean, who managed a game-high 32 points and 8 rebounds. Amherst was led offensively by seniors Wheeler and Meehan, who each poured in 21 in the convincing win, with Meehan also securing a team-best 9 rebounds. Wheeler and first-year guard Willy Workman also each grabbed seven boards.
Yesterday’s game against Emmanuel College went just as well. After a close first half that ended with Amherst leading 48-47, the Jeffs kicked it into another gear for the second half. Junior center Kurt Bennett made three quick shots increasing the lead to seven and opening up the game. Though the Saints attempted to mount a comeback, the Jeffs held on to close out a 98-76 win.
Bennett was the star of the game, going a perfect 12 for 12 from the field and scoring a career high 24 points, tripling his previous career high.
With the win, the Jeffs improved to 5-1 on the season. The Lord Jeffs will go to Lasell College on Saturday for the final game of calendar year.