AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College men's basketball team never trailed on Wednesday night as the Mammoths defeated Williams College 61-45 in a heated contest at LeFrak Gymnasium.

Amherst improved to a 12-5 record on the season and 1-2 in NESCAC play, while Williams fell to 10-7 overall and 0-4 in the conference. Up next, the Mammoths will host Hamilton College on Sunday at 3 p.m. in LeFrak Gymnasium.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

*First-year K.J. Neville got Amherst started with a one-handed jumper. Off the ensuing steal from sophomore Elias Chin in the defensive end, Neville found senior Drew Martin at the corner to add three and push Amherst's lead to 5-0 with 17:33 to play.

*Amherst then broke things open with a 15-3 drive between 13:50 and 9:58. Chin led off with a three-pointer before junior Zane Adnan found fellow junior Nate Pabis at the wing to add three more. Sophomore Aidan Yates and junior Marc Garraud traded threes at 12:34 and 12:16, respectively, before Pabis followed up with his second three-pointer of the stretch. Finally, Neville settled the ball in the defensive end, then sent a long ball to first-year Sherron Woodberry at the wing to give Amherst an emphatic 26-5 lead.

*The Ephs answered in the final five minutes of the half to condense the contest to 32-30 at the buzzer. The effort was highlighted by a strong individual effort from Yates, who scored 10 points across the stretch with three layups, one three-pointer, and a free throw.

*Williams kept Amherst within reach in the opening three minutes of the second half, riding points from senior Hudson Hansen to maintain a two-point gap at 37-35 with 17:49 remaining.

*The Mammoths reignited their offensive gusto across the next seven minutes, pushing forward on a 15-0 streak. Neville began the offensive outburst with a three-pointer fed by senior Chris Hammond at 17:24 remaining. Following foul-shooting from Chin, Hammond netted a layup, followed by five consecutive points from Woodberry. With 10:56 to play, Hammond stole the ball then travelled pole-to-pole before handing off to Garraud, who found Pabis at the wing for three to make it 52-35.

*The closing ten minutes were a tug-of-war as both sides traded field goals. Despite a last-second jumper from first-year Wes Gudeman, Amherst's advantage was too large to overcome as the contest closed 63-45.

BY THE NUMBERS:

*Amherst won the offensive advantage, converting 35.8% (19-53) of field goals compared to Williams' 32% (16-50), 42.3% (11-26) of three-pointers compared to 21.4% (6-28), and 70.6% (12-17) of free throws compared to 63.6% (7-11).

*Pabis scored a game-high 18 points, the most of any player. Yates and Hansen followed behind with 14 points each, with Neville in tow with 13.

*Yates was the only player to notch a double-double, also netting 11 rebounds.