Wilson	Thayer
Place	Gallant
O'Keefe	Hatch

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- In a physical rematch of a 76-61 Eph victory earlier in the season, the Williams men's basketball team (17-8) defeated the Bobcats of Bates College (13-12) in the first round of the NESCAC tournament Saturday, 87-78.  The number three seeded Ephs will go on to face rival Amherst for the third time this year next weekend at Middlebury in the NESCAC semifinals.

After a back-and-forth first half left the Ephs up 37-32, things really started to get going in the second half.  The Bobcats seemed to have an answer every time Williams threatened to stretch the lead.  During one period in the second half, the Ephs lengthened their lead to six or seven on five separate occasions only to see the Bobcats answer with a basket of their own to cut the lead back to within five.  At one point Eph freshman James Wang seemed to have broken the cycle with a three-point play to put the Ephs up 56-48 and force a Bobcat timeout, but Bates emerged from the break with an offensive rebound and Bates senior Ben Thayer (Gorham, Maine) hit a jumper to cut the lead back down to size.

Moments later Williams came out of a timeout and stretched the lead to double digits on a Harlan Dodson three-pointer from the corner. On Williams' next possession Wang pushed the ball upcourt and found Snyder for a lay-up and the foul. A Wang free throw at 7:22 barely a minute later gave Williams their biggest lead of the night, 66-52, and capped a 10-2 Eph run.

As was the theme all night, though, Bates answered.  After the free throw by Wang, Bobcat junior guard Marshall Hatch (Chicago, Ill.) hit a deep three to spark a return-volley to the Eph run. 

With just 1:56 remaining and the Ephs up 76-70, Thayer broke free for a wide open three which he drilled to pull Bates within three, 76-73.  It was the closest margin since the beginning of the second half when junior Jimmy O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.) tipped in a Bobcat miss to make it 37-34 in favor of the Ephs, and it ended a 21-10 Bates run since Williams had registered their biggest lead of the night at the 7:22 mark.

After a Williams timeout, Eph leading scorer Blake Schultz drove the lane on the left side for a contested lay-up and some breathing room at 78-73.

On the other end of the floor, Troy Whittington held his ground in defending the junior Sean Wirth (Barrington, R.I.) in the post, forcing a missed shot and then grabbing the rebound.  On the ensuing Williams possession Whittington was fouled and hit both clutch free throws to make it a three-possession game again at 80-73.

With time winding down Bates was forced to foul, but the Ephs took care of the ball and hit their free throws, holding on for an 87-78 victory.

Bobcats junior Chris Wilson (Brewer, Maine) led the team with 12 points but scored only two in the second half.  Wilson also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists, both team highs.  Thayer added 11 with 9 coming in the second half, and junior Alex Gallant (Bangor, Maine) and senior Scott Place (Bridgewater, Mass.) each added 10 points.

For the Ephs it was Schultz leading the charge with 21 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the floor and 7 of 10 from the free throw line.  Alex Rubin came off the bench for 20 points on an impressive 6 for 7 from the field and 6 of 6 from the line, while Snyder had 14 points and a team-high 5 assists.

Williams outshot Bates 52% to 45% from the field and hurt the Bobcats at the free throw line, burying 31 freebies to Bates' nine.  In pulling down 14 offensive rebounds, though, Bates was able to make up for the Ephs' marksmanship for much of the game.

STATS: Williams 87, Bates 78