By Andrei Berman
for D3sports.com
| James Wang scored 27 points in 39 minutes for
Williams, though not many were as a result of going up against
Peter Kaasila, left. Photo by Matt Milless, d3photography.com |
AMHERST, Mass. -- If Saturday’s game was any indication of things to come, Amherst and Williams could be entering another electric stretch in their historic rivalry.
Amherst freshman point guard Aaron Toomey provided a memorable debut performance against the rival Ephs, scoring 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds, while dishing out five assists to lead the host Lord Jeffs to a thrilling overtime victory in front of a standing-room only crowd at LeFrak Gymnasium.
Toomey was among a handful of non-seniors who played crucial roles in the 92-89 win and gave followers of each program more than a few reasons to look forward to future editions of the rivalry and to believe that parity has returned as its defining feature.
No. 2 Williams, which was without its all-American center Troy Whittington, nonetheless lived up to its advance billing. Its backcourt duo of sophomore Nate Robertson and junior James Wang combined for 46 points, scoring off of penetration and from beyond the arc and nearly leading the Ephs to the win.
But Toomey’s debut and the absence of Whittington were the key storylines in this, the first of two scheduled matchups between the teams. With the game just two minutes old, No. 17 Amherst’s senior point guard and captain, Connor Meehan, picked up his second foul, forcing Amherst coach Dave Hixon to insert his highly regarded freshman into the lineup. Toomey did not disappoint.
Playing poised and within the flow of Amherst’s offense, the rookie guard played the remaining 18 minutes of the opening half without turning the ball over, while tallying a team-high eight first half points. Meehan’s second foul might have worried some Amherst fans, but Hixon had no doubt that Toomey’s trial-by-fire plunge into the rivalry would go anything but smoothly.
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Aaron Toomey came off the bench for Amherst to lead
the Lord Jeffs in points and assists and contribute eight
rebounds. |
“He never plays like a freshman,” said the 34th-year coach, who historically has not been known for extending much playing time to rookies. “From the moment that Toomey stepped on the campus, he’s not been a freshman on the court. He averaged 42 points a game in the playoffs in North Carolina [in high school]. You don’t forget that just because you move up north.”
Toomey’s ability to consistently get one step ahead of the Williams defense also allowed the Lord Jeffs to exploit their advantage inside against a Williams frontline that was without arguably the conference’s most dominant player in Whittington.
“We didn’t really change our game plan. We planned on going inside, trying and maybe getting him in foul trouble if he was playing, but he wasn’t so we tried to exploit that just the way we would have if he was in the game,” said Toomey.
With Whittington out with a leg injury, Amherst sophomore center Peter Kaasila had a career night. He finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards, seemingly all of which ended in easy putbacks against a depleted Williams frontline.
“He’s a really big strong kid. He’s coming along. This is his first double-double. He’s starting to grow. He’s starting to become a confident kid,” said Hixon
“Pete Kaasilla was a load. He had seven offensive rebounds. That killed us,” said Wang.
Wang refused to speculate on whether the outcome would have been different with Whittington in the lineup.
“Obviously anytime you’re missing 17 [points] and 10 rebounds, you’re going to struggle, so obviously we missed him today. We would have loved to have to had him, but we can’t say that’s why we lost. We lost today because we didn’t rebound the ball and we didn’t make the right plays at the right moments,” the junior noted.
The combination of Toomey and Kaasila allowed Amherst to climb out of a slight early hole which reached up to seven points and to stay within two at halftime, as Williams entered the locker room leading 36-34.
The second stanza was played at a brisk pace, with the lead changing times eight times down the stretch. Robertson in particular played brilliantly for the Ephs during the final frame. He finished with 19 points, but did so on 7-for-11 shooting and his ability to knife through the Amherst defense almost at will allowed other Ephs to get open looks from beyond the arc.
Williams went 8-of-16 from deep during the second half and overtime and clung to a narrow lead until the game’s waning moments. A late bucket by Toomey and a pair of free throws from Meehan brought the game to overtime, where Amherst ultimately took control.
While the win snapped a three-game regular season skid against Williams for the Lord Jeffs, it hardly represented a definitive shift in the balance of power in the region.
In many ways, the absence of Whittington might have given fans a glimpse into the future of this rivalry. With Whittington sidelined, Williams looked very much like a team coached by a former assistant to current Michigan and ex-West Virginia coach John Beilein, which is what second-year coach Mike Maker is. Seven Ephs hit from beyond the arc Saturday. That sort of balanced marksmanship is a trademark of Beilein-coached teams and figures to define future Williams squads.
For Amherst, the win indeed serves to legitimize their hot start. Their resume now includes a marquee win and their national ranking figures to rise in the forthcoming national poll after a season in which it missed the postseason for the first time in a decade.
| LeFrak was packed for the rivalry
game. Photo by Matt Milless, d3photography.com |
The Jeffs definitively displayed that last year’s struggles were an aberration stemming from youth and injuries. A balanced Amherst offensive attack led to five players finishing in double figures.
In addition to the career nights by Kaasila and Toomey, sophomore Willy Workman tallied 12 points, while playing all 45 minutes. Meehan finished with 16, all of which came after halftime. Junior shooting guard Taylor Barrise chipped in with ten.
Wang led Williams with 27. Senior Harlan Dodson finished with 12 for the guests and rookie James Klemm ended the night with 10, including a pair of threes in overtime to keep the game close down the stretch.
Some Williams fans will want to put an asterisk next to this Amherst victory in light of the hobbled Whittington, who is expected to return soon. They’ll have the opportunity to prove if tonight’s result was an anomaly during the season finale five weeks from now in Williamstown.
More relevant in terms of national implications, it seems clear that today’s riveting contest very well could serve as a harbinger of equally exciting ones come late February and all the way into March.
“It’s a big win for us. We’re going to try and catapult off this and keep going. We know that’s not the only thing we’re looking forward to this season. We’re looking for bigger and better things, but it’s a great win to build off,” said Toomey.