Sophomore forward Ryker Vance converted an and-one with 6.9 seconds to play to lift the Amherst men's basketball team to a 53-51 win over archrival Williams, handing the Ephs their first loss of the season on Friday night in the NESCAC opener for both teams at LeFrak Gymnasium.
The Mammoths improved to 5-7 while the Ephs, ranked third in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll, fell to 12-1. The results leaves all three teams with 1-1 records in the battle for the Little Three Championship.
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The Mammoths are back in action tomorrow (Saturday, Jan. 7) at 3 p.m., hosting eighth-ranked Middlebury in another NESCAC clash at LeFrak Gymnasium.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
* The Mammoths opened the game with a 5-0 lead thanks to a three from Vance and a basket from junior guard Mohammed Alausa, but the Ephs responded with an 8-0 run.
* Back-to-back threes from sophomore guard C.J. Mitchell and first-year forward Chris Hammond put the Mammoths back on top. First-year center Giovanni Tam scored Amherst's next two baskets to give the Mammoths a 15-9 lead, the largest lead for either team in the game.
* The Ephs came back to tie the score at 20-20 and the teams went back and forth to a 25-25 tie. At the end of the first half, Hammond hit a layup for the Mammoths that was answered at the other end by senior guard Spencer Spivy to send the teams into halftime tied at 27-27.
* The second half was just as tight with five ties and nine lead changes. The entirety of the second half was a one-possession game as neither team led by more than three at any point. After a Vance free throw gave the Mammoths a 48-47 lead, sophomore guard Evan Glatzer scored to put the Ephs up by one before a pair of free throws from junior guard Cole Prowitt-Smith gave the Ephs a 51-48 lead with 2:20 to play.
* Vance scored off an offensive rebound on the next possession to cut the Williams lead to one with just under two minutes to play.
* From there, both defenses held strong until the Mammoths had the ball with the shot clock turned off in the final 30 seconds. An Alausa shot was blocked out of bounds with 22.1 seconds to play but the Mammoths retained possession and Vance scored as he was fouled under the basket with 6.9 seconds to play. Vance made the free throw to give the Mammoths a 53-51 lead.
* The Amherst defense kept the Ephs from getting a shot off on their final possession and the Mammoths celebrated a signature win.
BY THE NUMBERS:
* Hammond led three Mammoths in double figures with 12 points, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor and 3-of-3 from the free throw line. Vance posted his first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Mitchell scored 10 points
* The shooting numbers were as close as the score as the Mammoths were 32 percent (20-of-62) from the floor and the Ephs shot 33 percent (16-of-48)
* This is the second straight year in which Amherst was responsible for the first Williams loss of the season. Last year, the Mammoths notched a 73-65 win in Williamstown over the previously 10-0 Ephs.