MIDDLETOWN, CT – A layup from senior Chris Hammond rallied the Amherst College men's basketball team to a three-point deficit with one minute remaining, but Wesleyan University answered with four free throws to finish with a 65-60 victory over the Mammoths on Saturday afternoon at Silloway Gymnasium.
Amherst fell to 11-5 on the season and 1-2 in NESCAC play, while Wesleyan improved to 14-4 overall and a 4-0 record in the conference. The Mammoths will return home to host rival Williams College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*Wesleyan jumped ahead to an early lead as sophomore Zach Wolinski netted a three-pointer fed by senior Sam Pohlman to make it 11-4 with 16:00 to play.
*Amherst's offense heated up across the following four minutes as junior Marc Garraud poured in back-to-back threes to edge Amherst into the lead,15-14.
*Senior Drew Martin found sophomore Elias Chin behind the arch to add three points for the Mammoths at 7:53 remaining, but junior Charlie Moore quickly retaliated with a jumper thirty seconds later to equalize the contest at 19-19.
*Both sides traded buckets throughout the closing five minutes of the half until an emphatic three-pointer from Garraud at the buzzer edged Amherst into the lead to close 34-33.
*The Cardinals opened second-half scoring with an 8-2 drive, led by threes from Wolinski and sophomore Oscar Edelman, to break into the lead with a 39-34 edge.
*Amherst responded with their own 9-0 drive between 15:09 and 12:47 remaining as the Mammoth defensive unit kept Wesleyan scoreless while junior Nate Pabis, Chin, and Garraud tallied field goals to make it 44-41.
*The contest equalized four times across the next nine minutes as both defenses clamped down to level at 54-54 with just 4:56 remaining.
*With 1:18 remaining, Hammond pushed through a knot of players to net a layup and make it a three-point game with Amherst trailing 61-58. The effort gave Amherst the chance to tie the game in the final minute, but successful free throws pushed Wesleyan away from the Mammoths to close the contest 65-60.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Wesleyan held a small offensive advantage, converting 46% (23-50) of field goals compared to Amherst's 38.9% (21-54), 42.1% (8-19) of three-pointers compared to 37% (10-27), and 78.6% of free throws compared to 72.7%.
*Wolinski scored the most of any player, netting 21 points across 37 minutes of play. Chin and Garraud followed close behind, each adding 17 points.
