Courtesy Williams Sports Information

Box Score

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - No. 3 Williams (14-11, 6-3 NESCAC) earned an 84-72 victory over No. 6 Tufts (15-10, 5-4 NESCAC) in the 2007 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals at home on Saturday afternoon. For the first time since the 2003-04 season, Williams is headed to the NESCAC semifinals.

The Ephs and Jumbos traded narrow leads in the early going and Tufts had an 18-17 advantage at the 10-minute mark. At that point, junior Matt Weisbrot came off the bench to provide a huge lift for the Ephs. With 9:41 remaining, he turned a superb pass from junior point Chris Shalvoy into a three-point play, giving Williams a 22-18 lead. That sparked a 6-0 run for the Ephs, which helped them build the first double-digit lead of the night, 28-18.

After containing the Ephs with a scrappy man-to-man defense in the opening minutes, the Jumbos switched to zone coverage late in the first half. Williams' crisp passing game provided plenty of open looks and another six-point run in the final five minutes of the half fueled the Ephs to a 39-26 advantage at the break.

In the teams' regular season match-up in Williamstown two weeks ago, the Ephs held a 12-point advantage in the first half, only to watch the Jumbos storm back to earn an 82-65 win with a dominating second half performance. But, with its season on the line, Williams avoided a repeat performance and finished things off with smart play down the stretch.

Off a skip-pass from Shalvoy, sophomore Kevin Snyder knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to give the Ephs' a 20-point lead, 51-31, with 16:30 to play. But the Jumbos' tough interior play and physical style kept them in the contest down the stretch and they cut the lead to 12 with just under five minutes to go.

With Tufts intentionally fouling in an attempt to manage the clock, junior captain Chris Rose stepped up an drained a deep three with two minutes remaining to steal momentum and extend the Eph lead to 73-61. The Jumbos got as close as seven with 59 seconds remaining before time ran out on their comeback hopes.

Shalvoy finished with a game-high 26 points and six assists to lead the Ephs. His free throw shooting was also clutch down the stretch, as he sunk 11 of his 13 attempts from the line. First-year Blake Schultz and Rose both played huge roles in the victory, as Schultz finished with 16 points, five boards and a pair of steals and Rose contributed 15 points, seven rebounds and a steal. Weisbrot played 19 crucial minutes for the Ephs, coming up with six points, 11 boards, and three blocks.

Williams shot 47 percent from the floor and 38 percent from behind the arc. The Ephs sealed the win from the charity stripe, as they hit 21-of-27 attempts in the second half, 26-of-33 for the game.

On the defensive end, the Ephs' 1-3-1 zone limited the Jumbos' to 37 percent shooting from the floor and 16 percent from three-point land (including a 4-for-20 performance in the second half). Many of the Jumbos' points came on second chances, as they pulled down 22 offensive boards. Tufts out-rebounded Williams, 44-35.

Sophomore forward Jon Pierce recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Tufts. Many of his hoops came off pretty touch passes from junior forward Jake Weitzen, who finished with 10 points, seven assists, and eight rebounds. Junior guard Ryan O'Keefe also played well for the Jumbos, scoring 17 points and dishing out a pair of assists.