Williams Earns 77-62 Victory Over Wesleyan in Men's Basketball Quarterfinals
Courtesy Williams Sports Information
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Top-seeded Williams defeated eighth-seeded Wesleyan 77-62 Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the 2010 NESCAC Men's Basketball Championship. Williams improved its record to 24-1 with the victory, which was also the team’s 15th straight. The Cardinals fell to 11-14 with the loss. The Ephs will take on fourth-seeded Bates next Saturday, Feb. 27, at 2:00 p.m. in the semifinals in Williamstown.
James Wang led the way for the Ephs with a career-high 30 points on 9-15 shooting (5-8 from three); Blake Schultz and Harlan Dodson were the only two other Ephs in double figures with 13 and 11 points, respectively. The Ephs shot 52% from the floor for the game.
Sasha Brown keyed the Wesleyan attack with a 21-point, 6-assist effort, while Derick Beresford scored 13 and Mike Callaghan added 11. Williams held the Cardinals to 40% shooting for the game.
The first 20 minutes proved to be physical, as the teams committed a combined 19 fouls in the half and Williams entered the bonus only 9:24 into the game. The two teams’ offenses started slowly, as the Ephs and Cardinals opened 0-5 and 0-6 from the field, respectively. The Cardinals scored a minute in on two Brown free throws, and the Ephs did not score until 3:52 into the game on a tip in by Dodson.
The offenses picked up after the first four minutes, as the Cardinals shot 10-21 the rest of the half and the Ephs shot 10-16 including Dodson’s tip in. The final 16 minutes were back and forth, as no team led by more than 3 for the entirety of the half until Wesleyan went up 22-17 on a layup by David Maltz with 5:49 remaining in the half.
However, Williams responded to the five point deficit immediately, as Schultz knocked down two free throws on the next Eph possession. Williams took a 23-22 lead with 4:14 to play after Joe Geoghegan hit two free throws; the teams then traded baskets for the next 2:42, and Williams led 29-28 with 1:32 remaining in the half after Callaghan made a layup for the Cardinals.
Then the momentum began to turn in favor of the Ephs, as Dodson hit a three with 1:07 remaining. Beresford responded with a three of his own, but Dodson then hit a three that proved the last bucket of the half with 24 seconds remaining to make the score 35-31 Williams headed into the break.
Brown led the way for the Cardinals in the first half with 12, while Beresford added 7. Wang and Schultz scored 9 each in the half for Williams, and Dodson pitched in 8. Williams shot 46% from the floor in the half while the Cardinals made 39% of their shots, though both teams hit 10 field goals. Williams’ 4-point advantage came from the free throw line, as the Ephs shot 12-14 compared to the Cardinals’ 8-8.
The Ephs, led by Wang, took control of the game once the second half began. The Cardinals scored the first 5 points of the half to take a 36-35 lead, but then Wang found his groove: the Eph point guard scored or assisted on each of the Ephs next 13 points, spearheading a 13-2 Williams run that gave the home team a 48-38 advantage with 14:03 to play in the half.
The next offensive possession for Williams gave the Ephs momentum for the next five minutes. Troy Whittington picked up a loose ball at the top of the key, took a step, and exploded to the rim; he was fouled on the way up, but dunked the ball through the contact to give the Ephs a 50-38 lead. Building off the momentum of the dunk, the Ephs continued their run, and had opened up a 67-46 lead with 7:15 to play in the game.
Wesleyan was able to fight back over the game’s final minutes, and the Cardinals cut Williams lead to 11 , 73-62, with 2:23 to play. However, Wesleyan’s final push was not enough, and the Ephs held the Cardinals without a point over the last 2:23 to claim the 77-62 victory.
Williams’ offense made the difference in the second half. While the Cardinals shot 41% from the field (11-27), the Ephs knocked down 59% of their shots (13-22) and 60% of their threes (6-10). The Ephs also went 10-13 from the line in the half to better the Cardinals’ 5-5 effort.
