AMHERST, Mass. – An 18-point performance from first-year Sherron Woodberry helped propel the Amherst College Men's Basketball team past Elms College, 96-52, Saturday afternoon at Lefrak Gymnasium to clinch the championship of the Ken Wright Invitational.
Amherst improved to an unbeaten 2-0 record for the season, while Elms fell to 3-2 overall. Next up, the Mammoths will hit the road to battle against Springfield College at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at Blake Arena.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*Amherst struck quickly with back-to-back baskets from junior Zane Adnan, giving the Mammoths a quick 7-4 lead with 18:05 to play.
*With 17:25 remaining, senior Chris Hammond drove home a three-pointer from the corner to make it a four-point game at 10-6. Fellow senior Drew Martin added a layup two minutes later to extend Amherst's lead to 12-6.
*Following a steady three-pointer from sophomore Elias Chin at 14:09, senior Aden Goffe bucketed a jumper and a three-pointer of his own to reduce the gap to 17-15 with 12:06 remaining.
*Both sides traded buckets until a 5-0 Amherst run in the tenth minute, led by buckets from Adnan and first-year Brandon Margolin, pushed the contest to 24-18 in favor of the Mammoths.
*Hammond and Woodberry partnered up to hit back-to-back three-pointers with seven minutes remaining. The first saw Hammond fire a shot from behind the top of the arch, fed by Adnan, while the second saw junior Marc Garraud race pole-to-pole before finding Woodberry on the right wing for an emphatic bucket, 35-22.
*Mammoth three-pointers continued to rule the final three minutes of the period as Adnan sent home two buckets from behind the arch at 2:55 and 1:03 remaining, giving Amherst a steady 47-29 lead at the close of the half.
*The Blazers heated things up at the start of the second, driving a 7-0 push in the second minute that was highlighted by a jumper from Goffe and a three-pointer from junior DJ Watkins.
*It was Amherst's game from 13:52 to 9:10 as the Mammoths stormed away on an 18-0 run. Garraud led off with a bucket from the paint and a three-pointer in the seventh minute, while Woodberry quickly followed up with two three-pointers of his own in the eighth and ninth minutes. In the tenth, Garraud settled a rebound and traveled pole-to-pole before handing off to Pabis at the left wing, who drove into the paint to notch a bucket that pushed Amherst to a 76-44 lead over Elms.
*Junior Johnny McCain and Adnan maintained Amherst's momentum between 7:09 and 6:19, each bucketing a three-pointer to make it 85-44 heading into the final five minutes.
*Elms pushed until the final buzzer, uncorking two three-pointers in the final two minutes from Travis Jordan and senior Max Rolnick. But the effort was not enough to erase Amherst's lead as the game closed at 96-52.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Amherst held the offensive advantage, converting 56.3% (36-64) of field goals compared to 31.5% (17-54) from Elms, and 48.5% of three-pointers compared to 31.3% from the visitors. The Blazers held the advantage in foul shooting, successfully converting 100% of free throw attempts compared to a 72.7% showing from Amherst.
*Goffe was the leading scorer of the contest, tallying 22 points. Off the Amherst bench, Woodberry scored the most points with 18. Hammond and Adnan followed close behind, adding 16 each.
*Defensively, Martin made 2 blocks, the most of any player. Garraud led with the most steals, notching 4.
