NEW LONDON, Conn. – Sixth-seeded Amherst College held off third-seeded Connecticut College to post a 65-57 victory in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship on Saturday afternoon at a sold-out Luce Field House.

The Mammoths, who led by as many as 15 in the first half and 13 in the second, saw the Camels close the gap to two with 4:05 to play. Amherst countered with baskets by Charlie Randall and Chris Hammond to stay in front, outscoring Conn 13-7 down the stretch to seal the victory.

Amherst (15-10 overall) advances to next weekend's semifinals, which will be hosted by top-seeded Williams College. The Mammoths will face the Ephs while second-seeded Trinity College will take on fourth-seeded Tufts University.

The Mammoths shot 48 percent for the game and never trailed. Randall led all scorers with 22 points on 11-for-17 shooting and also grabbed 10 rebounds. Will Scherer tacked on 14 points, eight boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks in the win.

David Murray (Jackson Heights, N.Y.) led the Camels with 20 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Elias Espinosa (Leonia, N.J.) and Cam Schainfeld (Newton, Mass.) also scored in double figures with 15 and 10 points, respectively.

The gymnasium was packed as Camel Nation came out to see the first home quarterfinals game in 22 years. The crowd was raucous prior to tip-off, but the Mammoths jumped out to an early 8-2 lead to quiet them down.

Murray helped keep the Camels close, netting eight of his team's first 13 points. Amherst responded with an 11-2 run to open up a double-digit lead at 29-15 with 5:15 left in the half. Randall scored six points during the stretch while Bobby Sommers drilled a three.

Late in the half, the Mammoths took their largest lead of the day thanks to a three-point play by Sommers. Schainfeld gave the Camels some hope with a pair of jumpers in the final minute to cut the deficit to 37-26 at the break.

Randall led all scorers with 16 points at intermission as the Mammoths shot 59 percent in the half. Amherst guarded the perimeter well in the stanza, limiting Conn to just 1-for-8 shooting from outside the arc. Murray, who saw single coverage most of the half, paced the Camels with 12 points.

Conn got plenty of stops in the first four minutes of the second half but couldn't take advantage. The deficit was still 13 when Espinosa started to heat up. The sophomore hit a jumper to bring the margin back to single digits, and moments later he drained three free throws to make it a 43-35 game.

Midway through the half, Billy Whelan (Hamilton, Mass.) buried a three and Murray added a pair of free throws as the Camels pulled within six at 47-41. During the stretch, the Camels withstood a defensive possession where Amherst had a pair of offensive rebounds but couldn't cash in.

Conn used a 7-0 spurt to close the gap to 50-48 with 4:37 to go, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Schainfeld helped key the sequence with a pull-up jumper on the break, and on the next possession he found Murray in the paint for an easy jump hook. Espinosa capped the stretch with a steal on the defensive end that led to a fastbreak layup and an Amherst timeout.

The teams traded baskets on the next two possessions, with Scherer keeping the Mammoths in front and Espinosa answering back for the Camels. Hammond then contributed jumpers on back-to-back possessions for the visitors, who led 56-50 with 2:50 left on the clock.

Espinosa cut the deficit in half with a three-pointer with 2:30 to go, but the Camels would get no closer. Hammond hit a big three from the corner with 1:25 remaining, and the Mammoths wrapped up the win from the free throw line in the final moments. 

The Camels (18-7 overall) shot 37 percent from the floor and finished 3-for-17 from downtown. Ben Rice (Hanson, Mass.) led the efforts on the glass with 10 rebounds and also contributed four blocks. Jarron Flynn (Roslindale, Mass.) played 21 minutes off the bench and supplied three rebounds, two assists and two steals.