After a shootout of a first half in which the Polar Bears shot 60.0 percent from the floor, the Ephs buckled down to hold the Polar Bears to 35 second half points on just 35.3 percent shooting. The defensive adjustment helped turn a narrow 48-46 halftime lead into a more comfortable 6-10 point lead over most of the second half.
While the Ephs were able to more effectively shutdown shooters Andrew Hippert and Kevin Bradley in the second half, they had no answers for junior forward Kyle Petrie. Petrie was spectacular for Bowdoin all afternoon, finishing some difficult shots and completing several three point plays en route to scoring a game-high 36 points. First-year Andrew Sargeantson was a presence inside as he chipped in 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
The Ephs used an efficient fastbreak attack to get open looks all afternoon. First-year Chris Shalvoy (11 points, 3 assists) played his most solid game of the year, effectively controlling the tempo of the contest and running the break. Sophomore Brian Nelson was a big spark off the bench for the Ephs in the first half, knocking down all three of his 3-point attempts. First-year Chris Rose also provided a boost, pulling down 7 boards, 4 on the offensive glass.
Kain broke the milestone with 18:30 to play in the second half when he knocked down a 3-pointer to extend the Eph lead to 53-49. He hardly stopped there, however, as he had two more hoops over the next minute of play in powering the Ephs to their first double-digit lead of the contest.
With momentum solidly in their favor, the Ephs slowed down the pace of the contest over the last ten minutes of play and grinded out the victory. Kain and Shalvoy both sunk free throws in the final minutes to seal the win.
Before the game the team honored its four seniors, who were playing in their final home game at Chandler Gymnasium. Kain, fellow senior tri-captains Michael Graham and Jaris Cole, and forward Charles Baschnagel were recognized for their contributions to the Eph success over the past four seasons. An impressive 99-17 in their time at Williams, the foursome helped set a new Div. III record for consecutive home victories earlier this year (64). They won a national championship as a part of the 2002-2003 team and then played a big part in leading the Ephs back to the title game last season.
“It was nice for our seniors to go out this way, a great way for Tucker to go out with 1,000 points in a great effort,” said Head Coach Dave Paulsen.
“I have been blessed to stay healthy and play with some great pointguards and other great players who have gotten me the ball,” said Kain. “Playing with guys like Ben Coffin and Chuck Abba and other scorers just really helped get me shots. It’s definitely something I’ll be proud of once this season is all said and done, but for now my focus is just trying to improve and make a run in the conference tournament. We haven’t peaked yet but we’re hoping we’re peaking at the right time here, and that we can put it all together.”
“We wanted to reestablish ourselves at home [this weekend],” said Kain. “We slipped a little bit at home this season, not playing with the intensity we needed to at some points. We wanted to come out and make a statement about what it means to play basketball at Williams College and end with a couple of wins here.”
This weekend’s wins helped secure the Ephs the No. 6 seed in the NESCAC Tournament, which tips-off February 19th. They’ll face Bates on the road in their quarter-final match-up on Saturday at 2 pm.