Contact: Ben Badua
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. - Tom Killian '14 poured in 21 points on 6-of-12 shooting to lead the sixth-ranked Amherst men's basketball team to an 82-70 victory over Little Three rival No. 9 Williams at Chandler Gymnasium.
Having now won seven straight against their archrivals, the Jeffs improved to 14-2 on the season, while dropping the Ephs to 13-3.
Hitting all seven of his free throws, Killian also added eight rebounds and four steals, while David Kalema '14 had 17 points. Connor Green '16 finished with 10 points and seven boards, while Ben Pollack '16 was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, tallying 12 points and six boards in just 15 minutes.
Building on an early lead, Duncan Robinson '17 staked Williams to a 16-9 advantage with an old-fashioned three-point play at 13:32. Up by just three after a Pollack free throw, Ryan Kilcullen '15 drove the lane for two before stepping outside and knocking down a trey to make it 21-13.
With the Ephs still up seven after a Mike Greenman '17 triple midway through the period, Amherst found its rhythm, mounting a decisive 22-4 run over a span of just 4:58. Pollack and Killian got things started with consecutive layups. Four-straight Joseph Mussachia '15 points gave the Jeffs their first lead of the game at 6:28 before a Kalema triple from the right wing made it 30-26.
Daniel Aronowitz '17 ended a four-plus minute Williams field goal drought with a layup at 5:12, but a Kalema bucket coupled with a pair of Killian free throws stretched the visitors' margin to 37-28. Daniel Wohl '15 pulled the Ephs back within seven, but four-consecutive Amherst points once again made it a double digit game with 3:38 left in the half.
Ahead 45-37 at the intermission, Amherst opened the second on a 12-3 run. Green got things started with a layup on the Jeffs' opening possession before a Pollack basket padded the cushion. Green then drained a three pointer before a Wohl trey on the other end gave Williams its first points of the frame. Kalema answered with a basket at 17:16 before hitting a triple of his own that gave the visitors a 17-point edge.
After a Matt McCreary '14 jumper brought the Ephs within 15, Killian netted the game's next five points to put the Jeffs up 68-48. Kilcullen momentarily stemmed the tide with a layup at 10:07, but Mussachia scored the next five to give the visitors a 23-point lead.
Making one last push, Williams responded with a quick 9-0 spurt over the next minute and a half, cutting the deficit to 73-59 on a pair of Michael Mayer '14 free throws at 5:39. Coming right back, Killian knocked down a three before later hitting a pair from the line to extend the Amherst lead to 19 with just 4:08 on the clock.
Mayer led all scorers with 24 points and nine rebounds on 10-of-16 shooting, while Wohl knocked down 3-of-4 from behind the arc to finish with 17 points and five boards. Shooting 50 percent (28-of-56) from the floor, Amherst held Williams to 42.4 percent (28-of-66) from the field and a 23.8 percent clip (5-of-21) from three.
The Jeffs return to action on Saturday, Jan. 25 at Trinity.
