The Ephs entered the game desperate for a victory, having lost their last three contests. After falling to nationally ranked Amherst and Wheaton at home, Williams dropped a heartbreaker to Wesleyan on the road yesterday, losing to a Cardinal squad they had handled with ease earlier in the year.
Saturday’s game was a different story for the Ephs, who came out looking energized from the start. Playing with a defensive intensity that had been absent from their most recent contests, the Ephs limited the Camels to just 55 points on 34.9% shooting from the floor.
The Ephs were dominant on the boards as well, holding the Camels to just one shot on most possessions. Williams held a 48-30 advantage on the glass, and limited Conn. Coll. to just six offensive rebounds.
In control of the game on the defensive end, the Ephs were able to use their running game to execute more efficiently on offense. Williams demonstrated more poise during their possessions, and it resulted in 23 assists and just nine turnovers.
Senior tri-captain Tucker Kain and junior bigman Andrew Newton led the way with 14 and 18 points respectively, but it was the unselfish play of guards senior tri-captain Michael Graham, senior tri-captain Jaris Cole, and first-year Chris Shalvoy (7 assists) that kept things running smoothly for the Ephs. The three combined for 15 assists while turning the ball over just twice.
Sophomore Dana Leary had his most solid game of the year for the Ephs, pulling down four boards and chipping in 10 points.
Charles Stone led the Camels with 15 points while Zak Harris contributed 12 points and six boards in the losing effort.
“I’m really pleased with our performance,” said Williams Head Coach Dave Paulsen. “We played excellently on the defensive end. It was important for us to come into this game, and not only win, but do things the right way. It doesn’t matter who we play, if we play like we did today, with this kind of defensive intensity, we are going to be fine.”
Williams will look to put together back-to-back wins when they host Hamilton on Tuesday night at 7:30.