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| Connor Green has stepped into
a starting role for Amherst this season and has
excelled. Photo by Cory Seward, d3photography.com |
By Rob Knox
D3sports.com
As reigning national champion Amherst prepares for its fourth meeting against NESCAC rival Williams in Friday’s second national semifinal contest at the Salem Civic Center, Lord Jeffs coach David Hixon had one request for the NCAA Division III committee.
“I wish they had crisscrossed the brackets,” Hixon said. “I love playing teams from other regions. I understand that it happens and it’s almost too bad because you like to play teams you haven’t played. That’s OK. This is a big rivalry especially for the alums. I don’t want to the Williams rivalry to overshadow the fact that it’s a NCAA national semifinal game.”
Of course, if it were up to the alumni of both schools, they might play each other 24 times a year. Amherst did have an opportunity to experience something different: meeting an Atlantic Region team (York, N.Y.) and a pair of East Region opponents (Morrisville State and Plattsburgh State) during its run to Salem.
The winner of the Amherst-Williams game will meet the survivor of the Illinois Wesleyan and UW-Whitewater tilt in Saturday’s national championship contest that will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. (Video will not be streamed online. D3hoops.com will have an audio broadcast.)
Winners of eight in a row against their archrivals, the Lord Jeffs won all three meetings against the Ephs this season. Amherst won 84-73 at home, 82-70 on the road and 93-82 in the NESCAC title game, becoming the first team in conference history to win three consecutive conference crowns (seven overall).
The Lord Jeffs (27-3 overall) are in the national semifinals for the sixth time since 2004. They are aiming for their third overall crown and consecutive national championships for the first time in program history. Amherst has earned a return trip with virtually a new cast of contributors from last year.
The one constant helping to bridge last year’s success to this year’s squad has been all-everything scoring machine Aaron Toomey. The senior English major from Greensboro, N.C., has been terrific throughout his career and he has personally taken responsibility for helping the Lord Jeffs continue its tradition of playing deep into March.
“It’s been difficult to get back to this point of the season,” Toomey said. “We get everybody’s best shot every night so we have to be prepared and ready to play. It’s interesting that we’re playing Williams again because I don’t think neither team really wanted to see each other in the national semifinals. We’ve had three battles with them this year and we’ve been fortunate to come out on top.”
Toomey was named the New England Small College Athletic Conference’s Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season. He was second in the league in scoring (20.5 ppg), the tri-captain leads the NESCAC in assists (6.4 apg) and 3-pointers made per game (3.1), while sitting second in steals (2.0). Earning a place on the all-conference first team for the third year in a row, Toomey joined former Lord Jeff Andrew Olson as the only players in league history to garner consecutive Player of the Year awards and is on the short list for the D3hoops.com Player of the Year as well.
One of the most decorated players in program history, Toomey has spent the season re-writing the program’s record books. Becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer on Jan. 17 at Tufts, he has shattered the previous mark held by Steve Zieja (1,708). The only player in Jeff history to surpass the 2,000-point plateau, he netted 31 against Morrisville State in the national quarterfinals to up his career total to 2,030.
Toomey also holds Amherst’s career benchmarks for free throws (606) and three-pointers made (290), while breaking his own single-season record with 187 free throws this season. Shooting .912 (187-of-205) from the charity stripe, he is currently on pace to also surpass his own single-season record for free throw percentage set in 2011-12 (.910) and is just three triples away from tying the single-season three-point field goal record held by Jamal Wilson (96).
The Lord Jeffs entered the season as the preseason No. 1 despite losing many key players from last year’s national title team. Some thought Amherst was overrated while others didn’t expect the Lord Jeffs to achieve the same level of success they experienced last season.
“We lost a lot and lost an amazing amount of talent from last year,” Hixon said. “We needed to figure things out. The No. 1 ranking was crazy with as little returning as we had. We go into Emerson (a Dec. 7 game), missing two starters, and we lose. All of a sudden, we were rated too high. I don’t pay attention to the rankings because the only thing that matters is where you are at the end of the season.”
Amherst is still entertaining thoughts of ordering a matching championship banner because of players like Tom Killian, David Kalema and Connor Green, who have played bigger roles and shined in support of Toomey.
“We have found ways to get it done this year,” Hixon said. “Our seniors have taken the burden on their shoulders of leading this team. It’s been pressure on us to find ways. Now, we’re trying to find ways twice more.”
Killian posted career-high averages in points (15.0) and rebounds (6.3) per game, while shooting 51.9 percent (150-of-308) from the floor, 38.8 percent (54-of-139) from three and 80.0 percent (60-of-75) from the free throw line. A second-team All-NESCAC pick, Killian scored a career-high 31 points (including 17 of the team’s first 19) against Williams in the NESCAC championship game.
Important reserves during Amherst’s NCAA title run last season, Kalema and Green have grown into starting roles in 2013-14. Averaging 12.7 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, Kalema is shooting 43.4 percent (125-of-288) from the floor and 35.4 percent (87-of-113) from three. Against Morrisville State in the national quarterfinal, Kalema was at his best, hitting 8-of-14 shots en route to 20 points.
Showing the ability to score in bunches, Green currently ranks fifth in the NESCAC in points per game (17.6). Pouring in a career-high 42 points against Division II Nova Southeastern on Jan. 1, the sophomore standout has scored in double figures in all but four of his 27 appearances, tallying at least 20 points on 12 occasions.
“We are very excited to return to Salem,” Toomey said. “Even though we’re happy to still be playing, this is a business trip for us. It has felt good to prove people wrong this season. We lost three great seniors from last year and some people doubted us especially after we lost our first game.”
Amherst enters its national semifinal game with an 11-game win streak. During the streak, the Lord Jeffs have shot 46.3 percent (297-of-642) from the floor and 38.3 percent (115-of-300) from three, while holding opponents to 41.1 percent (273-of-664) shooting and a 31.9 clip (59-of-185) from long distance.
Limiting the opposition to just 66.6 points per game Amherst has enjoyed a 15-point scoring margin over its last 11. On the season, the Amherst led the NESCAC in scoring (84.5 points per game), while ranking second in field goal percentage (47.4), free throw percentage (75.4) and 3-pointers made (288).
“Our goal this weekend is to try and win another championship,” Hixon said. “The real deal is we’re playing late in March, which is a great thing. We’ve been fortunate. It’s great to get back to Salem because that means that you’ve had a great year. Mentally is an issue. It’s the national semifinals and we’re preparing to play as hard we can. Despite the fact we’re 3-0 this year against Williams, they’re a very good team and well-coached. We are preparing like it’s the first time we’re playing them as almost as if the games hadn’t existed. We know we need to win the game.”