Amherst dominated most statistical categories, most importantly field goal percentage (.431-.364) and rebounding (47-30) and, after the first 11 minutes of play left little doubt in the victory. Senior co-captain John Bedford did most of the damage, posting 17 points and eight boards, while junior Tim McLaughlin (Chatham, NJ) and sophomore Adolphe Coulibaly (Abidjan, Ivory Coast) came off the bench for 10 points and four rebounds apiece. McLaughlin continued his recent defensive prowess, snatching a game- and career-high five steals, all of which came in the first half.
The Camels hung tough early, nearly matching the Jeffs bucket-for-bucket and allowing the lead to grow no higher than six points through the 7:38-mark. Conn. sophomore Jeff Young (East Hartford, CT) provided most of their offensive spark, hitting his first four shots in route to nine quick points. However, Conn. ran into foul trouble as front-line players Charles Stone (Hackensack, NJ) and Sokul Zejnullahu (Peja, Kosovo) each picked up three fouls, and the Amherst offense finally hit its stride, reeling off a 13-3 run over the next five minutes and cruising into the locker room with a 44-28 edge. Senior co-captain John Casnocha (San Francisco, CA) notched six points in the spurt on the strength of a four-for-four showing at the charity stripe.
The Jeffs extended their lead out to 22 in the first five minutes of the second frame as Bedford drilled a trifecta off a Casnocha feed and then converted an old-fashioned three-point play for a 52-30 advantage. The Camels battled back with seven straight points of their own and managed to keep pace through the eight-minute mark, but Amherst opened another flurry, outscoring Conn. 13-0 over the next three and a half minutes to put the game to bed. Coulibaly canned back-to-back three-balls to ignite the run and McLaughlin capped it with five consecutive points.
Casnocha finished with nine points, five boards and a trio of assists, while junior Dan Wheeler (Bloomington, MN) added nine points, seven caroms and three dimes. Sophomore Matt Goldsmith (Morristown, NJ) matched Casnocha on the glass with five rebounds.
Young led Conn. with 16 points and four boards. Stone and Zejnullahu each nearly missed double-doubles as Young had nine points and eight rebounds, while Zejnullahu chipped in seven points and seven rebounds.
Amherst is set to face fourth-seeded Bates College, which topped No. 5 seed Bowdoin College ?-? in the first-round, while second-seeded Trinity College edged No. 7 seed Colby College, 84-81, for the chance to battle third-seeded Tufts University, which posted a 101-89 win over sixth-seeded Williams, in the other semifinal matchup. Trinity vs. Tufts gametime is set for 2 p.m., while Amherst hosts Bates at 4 p.m.
Official Basketball Box Score
Connecticut College vs Amherst College
2/18/06 3 p.m. at Amherst, MA
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VISITORS: Connecticut College 13-11
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
13 Jeff Young.......... * 7-9 2-2 0-2 0 4 4 0 16 0 0 0 1 30
15 Billy Karis......... * 0-4 0-2 0-0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 1 26
21 Gabe Patton......... * 0-4 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 2 0 0 1 0 0 15
45 Charles Stone....... * 4-11 0-0 1-1 2 6 8 4 9 0 0 0 0 16
5 Jahkeen Washington.. * 2-7 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 4 0 2 0 0 23
11 Christian Mosley.... 0-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 1 1 3 0 1 15
2 Bryan Gregg......... 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 11
23 Ulises Veras........ 1-4 1-1 1-2 1 5 6 1 4 1 1 1 2 19
24 Malik Brown......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
3 David Greenidge..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 5
31 Sokol Zejnullahu.... 3-7 0-0 1-3 1 6 7 4 7 2 0 0 1 21
32 Will Lyons.......... 1-4 0-1 0-0 0 1 1 0 2 0 1 0 0 16
41 David Dimock........ 1-1 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 2
TEAM................ 1 1
Totals.............. 20-55 4-9 4-10 8 22 30 15 48 5 12 1 6 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 12-26 46.2% 2nd Half: 8-29 27.6% Game: 36.4% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 3-5 60.0% 2nd Half: 1-4 25.0% Game: 44.4% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 1-4 25.0% 2nd Half: 3-6 50.0% Game: 40.0% 3
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HOME TEAM: Amherst College 23-2
TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS
## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN
22 John Bedford........ * 7-15 1-3 2-2 2 6 8 2 17 0 3 1 0 28
33 John Casnocha....... * 2-5 1-2 4-4 1 4 5 2 9 3 3 0 1 24
34 Dan O'Shea.......... * 3-6 0-0 1-1 1 1 2 3 7 1 0 0 0 13
41 Dan Wheeler......... * 3-9 1-4 2-2 5 2 7 0 9 3 1 1 0 27
5 Andrew Olson........ * 2-5 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 0 4 2 1 0 1 27
11 Marcus Bradley...... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
15 Adolphe Coulibaly... 4-7 2-3 0-0 2 2 4 0 10 1 0 1 0 13
20 Tim McLaughlin...... 4-7 1-2 1-1 1 3 4 2 10 1 0 1 5 21
21 Ray Corrigan........ 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 2 0 0 1 8
3 Glenn Wong.......... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3
30 Matt Goldsmith...... 2-6 0-2 0-0 1 4 5 3 4 2 1 1 0 16
31 Keith Zalaski....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3
4 Mike Salerno........ 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
40 Mike Holsey......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 3
44 Kevin Hopkins....... 1-1 0-0 2-4 1 2 3 0 4 1 0 1 0 8
55 Brandon Jones....... 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 4
TEAM................ 1 1 2
Totals.............. 28-65 6-17 12-14 17 30 47 14 74 16 10 8 8 200
TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 16-28 57.1% 2nd Half: 12-37 32.4% Game: 43.1% DEADB
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-8 25.0% 2nd Half: 4-9 44.4% Game: 35.3% REBS
F Throw % 1st Half: 10-12 83.3% 2nd Half: 2-2 100 % Game: 85.7% 0
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Officials: Vin Hirschbeck, Dale Allen, Randy Millen
Technical fouls: Connecticut College-None. Amherst College-None.
Attendance: 750
Score by Periods 1st 2nd Total
Connecticut College........... 28 20 - 48
Amherst College............... 44 30 - 74