Box Score
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.—For the first 20 minutes of Saturday's NCAA Second Round matchup, it looked like Gordon would pull off one of the biggest upsets of the Division III tournament. The upstart Scots ran out to a double-digit lead in the first half, but could not sustain their momentum after the break, falling to the favored Williams Ephs, 81-63.
Williams improves their record to 25-4 on the year and advances to the Sweet Sixteen, while Gordon's record falls to 18-11.
Williams went into the half down by seven after struggling mightily to establish a rhythm in the first half. Gordon jumped out to an early five-point lead with a layup by Hans Miersma (Whitinsville, Mass.) and a three by Park Thomas. The Ephs were able to cut the lead to two with 12:24 remaining in the half after Daniel Wohl sank a three ball and then got a fast break dunk off a bounce pass from Mike Greenman. However, Taylor Bajema (Whitinsville, Mass.) answered with a jumper for the Fighting Scots, and Williams was unable to bring the game that close again in the half.
Relying on stellar three-point shooting from Park Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and Alex Carnes (Phoenix, Ariz.), as well as stiff defense in the paint by Miersma, the Fighting Scots slowly extended their advantage, leading by as much as twelve with 2:15 left in the half.
The rim was unkind to the Ephs for much of the half: they only shot 37% from the field and made just a quarter of the threes they attempted, while Gordon, led by Thomas and Carnes, shot 56% from three. A layup by Michael Mayer with a minute to play plus a last second, coast-to-coast layup by Wohl cut the Gordon lead to seven going into the half, 38-31.
Park Thomas led all scorers at the half with 13 points for Gordon, while Duncan Robinson led the Ephs in scoring with 12 points. Scot Dominic Paradis led all rebounders with 6 boards in the half, and Miersma registered 4 blocks for Gordon.
Halftime changed everything for both teams. Gordon, previously potent from the field, came out cold as ice, and Williams was on fire. After Greenman's game-changing threes, Williams never yielded the lead back to the Scots. A lay-in by Miersma tied the game at 40 apiece, but a drive and bucket by Taylor Epley and yet another three-pointer, this time from Ryan Kilcullen, put the Ephs up by five with 15:58 to play in regulation. Williams never looked back, gradually extending their lead for the rest of the game and closing with a final score of 81-63.
Gordon was never able to recover their mojo from the first half, shooting only 31% from the field in the second period, while Williams shot 58% from the field and 53% from three-point range. Wohl led all scorers with 18 points for the Ephs, while Thomas led the Fighting Scots with 14. In addition, the Ephs had five players in double digits. The big men for each team, Miersma for the Scots and Michael Mayer for the Ephs, had very similar nights, both registering double-doubles, with 13 points and 11 boards.
Release courtesy of Williams Sports Information
