AMHERST - Host and #1 seed Amherst College overcame a halftime deficit and advanced to the NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship final for the 10th time with an 80-64 victory against fourth-seed Tufts on Saturday at LeFrak Gymnasium.
The Jumbos, making their first conference semi-final appearance since 2006, surged to a 35-32 lead at halftime. However, Amherst's Peter Kaasila scored 18 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and the Lord Jeffs (24-2) pulled away. They will face either Middlebury or Williams in the conference championship game tomorrow at LeFrak starting at noon.
Tufts, led by 19 points from freshman Tom Palleschi (Haverhill, MA), likely saw its season end at 17-9.
Junior co-captain Kwame Firempong (Inglewood, CA) hit three three-pointers in the first half and sophomore Ben Ferris (Essex Junction, VT) also scored nine points as Tufts looked to be upset-minded in the first half. The first 20 minutes were tight, including six ties. Amherst led 28-24 before the Jumbos finished the period on an 11-4 run to lead 35-32 at the break. Five different Jumbos contributed to the stretch, including a three ball from Firempong.
A layup by Palleschi for Tufts opened the second-half scoring, but it was pretty much all Amherst the rest of the way. Led by two Kaasila baskets, the Lord Jeffs tied the game at 40-40 with 16:55 remaining. Another layup by Kaasila gave Amherst a lead it would not relinquish at 42-40.
The Jumbos got within one twice over the next three minutes, including 47-46 after a three-point play by Ferris at the 14-minute mark. However, the hosts took control with a 12-1 run over the next four minutes featuring two traditional three-point plays by David Kalema. That put Amherst up 59-47 with 10 minutes on the clock.
Five points by Palleschi helped the Jumbos move to within nine twice, including 61-52 with 7:51 remaining. However, a 10-2 spurt by Amherst with six points from Kaasila gave them a 71-54 advantage with 4:48 to play and they were in control from that point on. Their lead peaked at 21 (80-59).
Allen Williamson was also a force in the second half for Amherst, scoring 11 of his 19 points. Kaasila added eight rebounds and three blocks, helping the Lord Jeffs to seven blocks total. Willy Workman finished with 13 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. Aaron Toomey, third in NESCAC scoring entering the weekend, was held to seven points though his lone three-pointer came during the 10-2 stretch that put the game away. Amherst shot an excellent 54.1 percent (33/61) today, though they were just 2 for 14 (14.3 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.
In comparison, the Jumbos hit just 24 of 66 shots overall for a 37.5 percentage. Ferris added a total of 18 points to the Tufts attack, while senior co-captain Scott Anderson (Sudbury, MA) recorded eight points and 10 rebounds.
Amherst will vie for their sixth NESCAC title tomorrow.
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