AMHERST, MA – The 13th-ranked Amherst College men's basketball team opened the 2010 NESCAC season this evening against Little Three rival Wesleyan University at home. The Lord Jeffs led 43-29 at halftime and held off the Cardinals for an 87-71 win. Amherst (9-3/1-0 NESCAC) will play host to Connecticut College Saturday at 4 p.m., while Wesleyan (6-8/0-1) will head to Trinity.
Amherst took an early 8-6 lead as senior tri-captain Steven Wheeler (Bloomington, MN) had it going from long range with back-to-back three pointers. Wesleyan's Shasha Brown hit a long two in response to keep the Cardinals on pace. Minutes later, Wheeler tied the game at 13-13 on his third triple in the first six minutes. Amherst took a 19-16 lead with 11:58 to play as junior tri-captain Conor Meehan (Meriden, CT) scored three straight baskets. After a pair of Greg St. Jean free throws, Meehan found first-year Peter Kaasila (Plaistow, NH) off a pick-and-roll for a one-handed dunk in the lane.
Amherst slowly built some breathing room through the middle of the first half, and with 8:29 to play Wheeler hit his fourth straight three to start the game, giving the Jeffs a 27-18 lead. With 4:50 to play, sophomore Taylor Barrise (Allendale, NJ) made a three from the top of the key to stretch the Amherst lead to 33-21 and force Wesleyan to call a timeout.
In the final minutes of the first half, Amherst's lead grew to 43-29 as the Lord Jeffs pounded the ball inside to Jeff Holmes (Saunderstown, RI). At the break, Wheeler led all players with 15 points on 5-of-6 shooting, including 4-of-4 from behind the arc. The Cardinals were led by Jeremy Kaminer with seven points.
During the first five minutes of the second half, Amherst's lead grew to 57-40 as Wheeler hit back-to-back threes form the right side. The Cardinals called a timeout following Wheeler's sixth three of the night to try and cool off the Lord Jeff leader.
Shortly after the stoppage, Amherst rookie Willy Workman (Northampton, MA) had a nice put-back on a David Waller (Tampa, FL) miss, before Brown scored on a slashing drive through the lane. The lead grew as large as 19 points, but scores on three straight trips by the Cardinals had the lead down to 11 points at 69-58 with 5:12 to play.
Amherst turned to Waller on the next possession, and the sophomore answered with a three-point play the old fashioned way. As the clock went under the four-minute mark, Wesleyan refused to go away as Brown made another pair of free throws. With over three minutes remaining, the Cardinals looked content to foul Amherst quickly on the inbound and hope for misses at the line.
Despite Amherst's inability to make free throws down the stretch, the Lord Jeffs continued to play solid defense to keep Wesleyan from closing the gap, holding on for the 87-71 win. At game's end, Wheeler and Brown led their teams with 21 points apiece, while Meehan had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists for Amherst. Holmes had 15 points and five rebounds for the Jeffs, while Waller and Kaasila combined for 20 points and six boards. Kaminer finished the night with 14 points and six rebounds for Wesleyan.
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