Courtesy Amherst Sports Information

Box Score

SALEM, Va. - Washington (Mo.) denied Amherst an attempt at a repeat as the national champions as the Bears downed the Lord Jeffs 90-68 in the championship game of the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Va. Amherst senior forward Fletcher Walters (Ann Arbor, Mich.) led the Jeffs in scoring with 17 points.

By the 13:45 mark of the first half, Amherst trailed 18-8. The Bears lead grew to as large as thirteen, before Walters made a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to 23-12.

With 9:19 to go in the opening frame, Walters was fouled on the right block, but flipped a shot over his shoulder and in for the front end of a three-point play. Less than two minutes later, senior captain Andrew Olson (San Diego, Calif.) swept in for a left-handed lay-up to cut the margin to eight points at 29-21.

After the final media timeout of the first half, Olson found Hopkins with a threaded bounce pass for a dunk. Olson dropped in a floater on the next Amherst trip to cut the lead to six points at 35-29. Wash.-U responded with a three from the left wing, before Olson hit Hopkins for another slam. Once again though, the Bears responded with a triple from the wing, to take the lead right back to ten points.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, the lead that the Lord Jeffs had shrunk to six points sat at a dozen once again. Wash-U. closed the half with one more bucket to take a 45-32 lead into the locker room.

At the break, Troy Ruths lead all players with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and a 7-for-8 half at the line, while Walters paced Amherst with nine points and a pair of rebounds. Olson and Baskauskas each chipped in with six points for the Jeffs.

Amherst took the floor for the second half with their starting five of Olson, Baskauskas, Walters, Hopkins and senior Brandon Jones (Hopatcong, N.J.). The Lord Jeffs cut the lead down to ten points on an Olson three, and then created a turnover with some tough defense. After another Amherst steal, Olson drilled a pull-up triple to bring the score to 50-44.

At the 9:19 mark, Jones scored five straight points for the Lord Jeffs to cut into the Wash-U. lead that had grow to 16 points. A three-point play from the senior closed the gap to 69-56, but a triple by Danny O’Boyle equalized for the Bears.

With 6:59 to play in the second half, Jones grabbed another offensive rebound after his own miss, and was fouled in the act of the put-back. Jones made both free throws to close to 72-58.

Wash-U. swelled their lead to 76-58 with just five minutes to play, and Amherst was looking at a situation where only a near miracle would put them in a position to pull out a win. At the final media timeout of the second half, Amherst trailed by 18 points, 78-60.

No such comeback showed up for the Lord Jeffs, as the Wash-U. Bears pulled away down the stretch for a 90-68 victory. The result ends Amherst’s season with a record of 27-4, while the Bears improve to 25-6 and win the program’s first-ever National Championship.

Walters scored a team-high 17 points for Amherst and pulled down five boards, while Olson had 16 points and six assists. Baskauskas and Jones each scored 12 points, while Jones had a team-high seven rebounds.

The loss also marks the end of the careers of Olson, Jones, Hopkins, Walters and Matt Goldsmith (Morristown, N.J.). Olson was named to the All-Tournament Team once again. The senior class will walk away from Amherst with an impressive resume that includes an overall 111-12 mark, and last year’s national title.