Junior Michael Graham came off the bench to score 14 points, grab three rebounds, and dish out three assists to provide the necessary spark that keyed his team’s 103-81 victory over Little Three foe Wesleyan.
“[Michael] Graham brings so much to the team,” head coach Dave Paulsen said. “He’s a guy you want on the floor no matter what. Now, when he’s making shots along with his defensive intensity, it’s all the better.”
The victory upped the Ephs record to 21-1 overall and an unblemished 7-0 in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. It also assured the Ephs of at least a share of the Little Three Championship with Amherst needing to top Wesleyan next weekend to garner a share of the title. Wesleyan slipped to 11-9 overall and 4-3 in conference.
While the final score might deceive one into thinking that the game was a blowout, it was far from it, especially in the early goings. Just as was the case in Middletown earlier in the season, Wesleyan came out of the gates on a mission to dethrone a top-ranked team.
Yet, unlike in the last meeting when both Kanem Johnson and Keala Mills scored 30 or more points, on Saturday, Mills got in foul trouble early and never got it going offensively thanks to excellent defense from junior Jaris Cole and Graham.
“We wanted to sort of tag-team him,” Paulsen said. “Graham and Jaris [Cole] did a great job on him.”
Mills netted just two field goals in the game, one in each half and finished with 11 points.
“Early on, we didn’t give him anything easy,” Graham said. “It’s hard to get in a flow when you don’t start well in someone else’s gym.”
After an even matched first half that saw both teams struggle a bit offensively, the senior tri-captains, Ben Coffin, Michael Crotty, and Chuck Abba keyed a pivotal 14-3 run over 3-minutes and 30-seconds to up a four-point lead to 15 (56-41) with 15:21 to play.
Each senior scored three points during the stretch. Coffin hit a turnaround to start the run and added a free throw, Crotty added a three-pointer from the corner, and Abba, in characteristic fashion, hustled down an offensive rebound and then got three the old-fashioned way on a put back.
Graham also drilled a three from the wing to cap the run that saw Wesleyan fail to muster a field goal for 4:20 of play.
For the remainder of play, the Ephs shooting touch heated up a bit and though the defensive effort did not thrill Paulsen, it did not allow the Cardinals to get closer than 12 the rest of the way.
Six players reached double figures in points for Williams, led by Crotty and junior Tucker Kain who chipped in with 15 apiece. Crotty also gave out eight assists and Kain pulled down eight rebounds, including five offensive. Graham and Coffin notched 14 points each and Coffin grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds that went a long way to determining his team’s 51-30 domination of the glass that included an astonishing 17 offensive boards.
Abba scored 12 points and Cole contributed 10 as all five starters reached double digits for the Ephs.
“We wanted to focus on moving the ball in the open court,” Paulsen said. “Our offense had gotten sort of stagnant, but then tonight we had 24 assists on 39 baskets made which is not bad.”
Saturday’s win, though likely not the last home game the Ephs will play this season, was the last regular season home contest for Abba, Coffin, Crotty, and Blake Morgan. The quartet has established themselves as not only one of the best classes in Williams Basketball history, but also as one of the hardest working and most dedicated that the school has ever seen.
“We just look to them to lead us,” Graham said. “And, it’s always a constant.”