Sports
M. basketball needs impressive weekend to earn NESCAC playoff bid
By Patrick Malin ’18
February 11, 2016
Tags sports
The Hamilton men’s basketball team enters the final weekend of the regular season with a chance to earn a NESCAC playoff spot after failing to reach the playoffs last season. The Continentals look to pick up two victories against conference opponents to close out a season in which conference victories have been at a premium.
The team tallied an important victory at home against Bowdoin in a game delayed by weather on Saturday Feb. 6. In an evenly matched NESCAC contest, Hamilton’s defense limited the top scorer in the NESCAC, Lucas Hausman ’16, to just 18 points, well below his season average of 25.4 points.
Senior leader, Ajani Santos, scored a season-high 25 points on 11-18 shooting, and was a perfect 3-3 from the free-throw line. Starting point guard Jack Dwyer ’18 led the team with eight assists and added 12 points of his own. Andrew Groll ’19 stuffed the stat sheet against Bowdoin, scoring 10 points and collecting 10 rebounds for his sixth double-double of the season. Groll also added three steals, three blocks and two assists in the all-around dominant performance.
The following day, the Continentals took on the Colby Mules in a well-contested game that required an overtime period to decide a winner. Groll dominated in the first half, leading Hamilton in scoring with 12 points and rebounding with five boards. Hamilton carried an eight-point lead into halftime, but Colby stormed back in the second half to take the game down to the wire. Dwyer drained a jumpshot with 15 seconds left in regulation to give Hamilton a four-point lead, but Colby’s center, Chris Hudnut ’16, made a three-pointer on the next possession to bring the game within one. Peter Hoffmann ’19 was fouled immediately on the inbounds pass and was one for one from the line, leaving the door open for the Mules on the final possession. Colby forward Ryan Jann ’16 was fouled on a three-point attempt with one second left in the game, but missed his third free-throw and a chance to down the Continentals in regulation, sending the game to overtime knotted up 80-80.
The Continentals were outscored in overtime 19-15, dropping a crucial NESCAC game that would have put them in playoff position by a final score of 99-95. Michael Grassey ’19 finished the game as Hamilton’s leading scorer with 23 points; Dwyer added seven assists to increase his NESCAC leading assists average to 5.4 assists per game this season.
The loss against Colby gives the Continentals an overall record of 11-11, with a conference record of 2-6. With only two games remaining in the season, Hamilton is in a three-way tie for the eighth and final NESCAC playoff spot with Bowdoin and Colby. In what has been some
what of a rebuilding season with two-thirds of the roster comprised of underclassmen, a late playoff berth would be a reward for a team that has shown drastic improvement over the course of the past few months.
The road to a playoff berth, however, will not be easy. On Friday, Feb. 12, the Continentals will travel to Hartford, Connecticut to take on a Trinity team that has lost only one conference game this season. Trinity has one of the best defenses in the NESCAC, limiting opponents to just 65.8 points per game while holding opposing teams to shooting just 37.5 percent from the field. Immediately after the game against Trinity, the Continentals will travel to Amherst to play the Lord Jeffs on Feb. 13. Amherst is currently the second best team in the NESCAC, with a 6-2 conference record and a NESCAC best 18-4 overall record.
In order to compete for a playoff spot, the Continentals must complete at least one massive upset this weekend, and securing a spot may require a monumental double-header against two top-class opponents. The Continentals will look to continue their impressive late-season run for an opportunity at postseason glory.