The Ephs are now 225-19 in Chandler Gymnasium since its opening in 1987 and have not lost at home since falling to rival Amherst College 73-64 on January 13, 2001. Senior tri-captains Jaris Cole, Tucker Kain, and Michael Graham are undefeated at home, sporting a remarkable 54-0 home record to go with a 90-9 career mark.
“Before our home games we stress that we want to control the game and defend our home court every time,” said Graham. “We approach every game the same whether it’s at home or on the road but it’s just an attitude we have here, having that home court advantage. We’re going to see a lot of better competition later on in the season, and it will be more of a challenge to keep the streak going this year, but it’s just going to take more of the same things that we have used already to get us here.”
The 63 game streak began with a 65-64 win over Hamilton College on January 16, 2001 and has included 15 postseason victories. During the stretch, the Ephs have won five NESCAC Tournament games and seven NCAA Tournament games in Chandler.
The record was previously held by North Park (IL), winner of 62 straight home games from 1984-88. The Division I record for consecutive victories at home stands at 129, set by the University of Kentucky from 1943-55, while Philadelphia University holds the Division II record with an 80 game home win streak from 1991-95.
“I think, first of all, it speaks to the quality of our guys and their level of preparation every night, to be up for every game whether it be the biggest game on our schedule or not,” said Dave Paulsen, now 111-16 as Head Coach of the Ephs. “Secondly, it shows the tradition of excellence that has been around for years and years and years here. Good teams win at home. I think the third thing is that we have a tremendous following from the community. We always have great support from our campus and our community every game.”
The Ephs broke the record in impressive fashion, using a fast-paced running attack to overpower the UMFK Bengals. Williams recorded assists on 30 of its 43 buckets and shot 51.8% from the field. All 16 players on the active roster got in for the Ephs and six scorers entered double digits. Kain led the team with 14 points and nine rebounds while Cole seemed to do it all, handing out six assists to go with six points, five rebounds, and three steals.
Guard Derrick Cooper had a game-high 20 points on 7-13 shooting for the Bengals.
After the game, the Ephs were presented with the Williams Invitational Championship Plaque. Graham (11 points, 3 assists) was named to the All-Tournament team and junior bigman Andrew Newton (13 points, 4 rebounds) earned MVP honors. Cooper and teammate Billy Russo were recognized as All-Tournament players for UMFK.
The Ephs next travel to Schenectady, NY to take on Union at 8:00 PM on Tuesday.