The Hamilton men’s basketball team wrapped up their regular season with an unsurprising 84–51 victory against SUNY-Cobleskill on Tuesday night. The Continentals have had a thrilling season and look to build a winning streak as they head into the conference postseason. This Saturday, Hamilton will host six-seed Tufts at 3 p.m.
The Continentals have now been ranked in the
D3hoops.com
poll for seven consecutive weeks, and currently hold the spot at №15 in the nation. With an overall record of 21–3, the Continentals have captured another 20-win season (the 17th 20-win season in program history). Last weekend, Hamilton knew they had their work cut out for them. The first game of the weekend drew a crowd of nearly 1,000 against the now-nationally fifth-ranked ranked Middlebury Panthers, who had previously been ranked №1 in the NESCAC standings. The Continentals rolled by the Panthers with a 102–83 victory, thanks to Kena Gilmour ’20’s 29-point performance and contributions from several bench players. Hamilton shot 52.5 percent from the eld and 62.5 percent from three-point land. When asked about what has contributed to the Continentals’ success this season, Mark Lutz ’20 commented, “A big part of our team’s success has been our depth. Our ability to go deep into our bench keeps fresh legs on the court, which helps us play faster than other teams and wear them down.”
After the win on Friday night, Hamilton faced off with eighth-ranked Williams for their final conference game of the regular season on Saturday afternoon. The quick turnaround after an extraordinary effort less than a day before was a tough task for the Continentals, and they fell to the Ephs 81–67.
Despite the loss on Saturday, the Continentals took the third seed heading into the playoffs due to a five-way tie for first place. Amherst, Williams, Hamilton, Wesleyan and Middlebury all finished the season with NESCAC conference records of 7–3.
Heading into their game against Tufts, the Continentals have plenty of confidence. Hamilton is ranked 19th in scoring offense for Division III teams this season, putting up an average of 88.4 points per game. Their shooting percentage for the season is 46.1 percent and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc. Gilmour averages 17.4 points per game, 7 rebounds per game, and 1.7 steals per game (leads team in every category). Peter Hoffman ’19 adds over 13 points-per-game and shoots over 50 percent from the eld. Hoffman reached the 1,000-point milestone in the Continentals’ win on Tuesday night.
Lutz adds, “It’s a very tight-knit group of guys because of the unselfish leadership from our seniors. We have built a great team culture on and off the court.” This year, Hamilton will graduate three seniors. Jack Dwyer ’18, Joe Pucci ’18, and Matthew Moros ’18 have all taken major steps with the Hamilton Basketball program and look to go out on top this winter.
Since joining the NESCAC for basketball during the 2011–12 season, the Continentals are hosting a playoff game for the first time. Lutz commented on the teams hopes for the postseason: “Our team motto from the beginning of the year has been ‘Why Not?’ meaning Why Not Us? …and we break every huddle with that.”
The Continentals have drawn immense support from students and faculty on campus this winter and they look to keep their postseason hopes alive this Saturday after an historic regular season.
