AMHERST, MA – A stellar performance by the Williams men's basketball team was not enough today as the Ephs (23-4, 9-1 NESCAC) fell to archrival Amherst (25-2, 10-0 NESCAC) in the NESCAC Championship 74-73.  The Ephs had the final possession of the game, but a stellar block by Lord Jeff senior captain Allen Williamson on a Taylor Epley drive gave Amherst the win.  Amherst has been responsible for three of the Ephs' four losses this year.  In January, the Lord Jeffs came away with an 83-67 win and just two over two weeks later, they added a 65-48 victory.  Despite Amherst's big wins earlier in the season, both teams knew what an exciting game today's would be. Today's win gave Amherst its sixth NESCAC title and second in a row.

As promised whenever the rivals face off, the game was exciting from the opening minutes.  Neither team was able to pull away in the first half. The Lord Jeffs were able to push their lead to as many as seven, but the Ephs quickly came bounding back.

Williamson made a jumper just under seven minutes into the game and was fouled.  His finish from the line made it 14-7 Amherst. Down the other end, though, Nate Robertson had a three-point opportunity for the Ephs.  He was fouled on a bucket in the paint and converted the free throw. James Klemm then stole the ball for the Ephs and pulled up at the three-point line in transition.  He hit the shot to pull the Ephs within one. Ben Pollack finished inside for Amherst before Sean Hoffmann threw down a monstrous dunk and then finished in the lane to give the Ephs the 17-16 lead.

The Ephs' 10-2 run ended there as the Lord Jeffs refused to panic, and Connor Green hit a jumper and David Kalema went 2-for-2 from the charity stripe to take back the lead. Back-to-back threes from Klemm broken up by a lay-up for Amherst from Williamson gave the Ephs back the 23-22 lead.

The rest of the half passed with neither team able to pull away, and Amherst entered the locker room up 37-35. Taylor Epley led both teams with 11 points in the opening half on 5-for-7 shooting.

Out of the break, the teams continued to trade hoops. Neither team seemed able to pull away until the Lord Jeffs looked like they might start to take control with a handful of minutes left to play.

With 5:11 on the clock, Willy Workman finished a jumper to give the Lord Jeffs the three-point lead. Aaron Toomey then added a jump shot in the paint to make it 66-61 Amherst. Michael Mayer responded with a bucket for the Ephs before Toomey finished yet another hoop for the Lord Jeffs. Wohl went 1-for-2 from the line for the Ephs before Kalema converted both of his opportunities with 2:45 left to play. The Ephs found themselves down six.

Williams, however, refused to go away. Mayer finished inside off of a pretty pass by John Weinheimer to cut the lead to 70-66 before Epley hit a three-pointer with two minutes on the clock to pull within one. Willy Workman responded with a pair of free throws for Amherst, and the Ephs were down three with 1:37 on the clock.

The Ephs pulled within one at 72-71 with a tip-in from Michael Mayer with 1:06 left to play.

The final minute brought a wide range of emotions for the Ephs. Tough defense caused Toomey to a jumper, but Tom Killian came up with a huge rebound. The Ephs, however, forced a jump ball. With the possession arrow in their favor, the Ephs got back the ball with just under 40 seconds on the clock.  Out of a timeout, Robertson attempted to drive through the lane, but he had the ball stripped by Peter Kaasila. Williamson got the ball and was fouled.  Shooting just over 70% from the line entering the game, Williamson made both ends of the one-and-one opportunity.

Williams got the ball back with 25.8 seconds left. Epley drove to the hoop and finished without the backboard to pull within one.  Toomey got the inbound play and was able to waste some clock, but he went to the line after a foul by Wohl. Toomey entered the game a 91.6% foul shooter.  He missed the front end of the one-and-one, though, and the Ephs got the ball back with just over 12 seconds left in the game.

With a foul to give, Williamson fouled Robertson with five seconds to play.  Robertson inbounded the ball from the left sideline with no timeouts left. He got the ball to Epley by the left side of the arc.  Epley attempted to drive to the hoop and get off a shot, but Williamson came up with the huge block for the Lord Jeffs, and time expired.

 Leading the way tonight for the Ephs was Epley with 22 points. Mayer added 17 as well as 13 rebounds. Robertson finished with 11 points and five assists for Williams. The Ephs shot 50.0% from the floor on the day.

Williamson carried the Lord Jeffs with 17 points.  Kaasila, Green, and Toomey added 14, 11, and ten respectively.  Amherst shot 43.8% from the floor.

Both teams will wait to see the NCAA tournament draw. NCAA Basketball Tournament Selection Shows are online Monday afternoon. The men's pairings will be announced at 12:30 PM EST and the women's pairings will be announced at 2:30 PM EST. Please see the link below.

http://www.ncaa.com/news/ncaa/article/2013-01-04/2013-winter-championships-selections