The Hamilton men’s basketball team won a thrilling contest 91–82 over the Tufts Jumbos to advance to the NESCAC playoff semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 17, capitalizing on an enthusiastic home-court advantage in Margaret Bundy Scott Field House. Hamilton, the third seed in the tournament, will travel to Amherst, MA. (who will host the semifinals and finals) for their second round game against Tufts University on Saturday, Feb. 24. This is the first time the Continentals have advanced to the NESCAC semifinals since they joined the league in 2011.
Entering the game, the Continentals ranked fifteenth in NCAA Division III basketball, earning the third seed boasting an overall record of 21–3 with an impressive 7–3 in conference play. However, there was little separating the top six teams in the conference (the top five seeds all finished 7–3 in conference competition and Tufts went 6–4 to claim the sixth seed), meaning the Jumbos were certainly qualified to test the talent of the Continentals.
Kena Gilmour ’20 and Pete Hoffman ’19 helped Hamilton to a hot start in the game, scoring 29 points combined on 12 of 22 shooting. The duo went a perfect four of four from the free-throw line, while Gilmour added a three-pointer to stretch the floor for the Hamilton offense. Hoffman collected seven rebounds in the first half, including three offensive boards to provide his team with vital extra possessions. The Continentals held a 45–37 lead heading into the halftime break, with Tufts guard Vincent Pace keeping the Jumbos within striking distance with 13 first half points.
The Jumbos took a 57–56 lead with 12:00 remaining in the second half, and managed to cling onto a one-point advantage with under five minutes. Gilmour and Hoffman took over on offense, scoring seven straight points. Tufts would not go away quietly, cutting the Continentals’ lead to just two points (81–79) with 1:45 in the tight playoff contest. Gilmour dazzled in crunch time, draining a three-pointer followed up by a quick Hoffman jump shot to extend the Hamilton lead to seven. Gilmour proceeded to draw two fouls, and iced the game with three free-throws, creating a deficit that the Jumbos could not overcome. The final score read 91–82 when the final buzzer sounded, sending the talented Continentals into the semifinals.
Gilmour finished the game with a double-double, matching his career highs in points and rebounds with 29 and twelve, respectively. Hoffman and Michael Grassey ’19 joined the double-double club in the game as Hoffman tallied 25 points and eleven rebounds while Grassey added ten points and a team-high fourteen boards.
The Continentals face a tough test in their semifinal match-up with the Williams Ephs, who currently sit at number eight on the latest D3Hoops.com top-25 national rankings. The two nationally-ranked squads clashed in Clinton on Feb. 10, with the Ephs emerging victorious by a 81–67 final score. The two teams battled to a 41–41 tie in the first half, but the Ephs jumped out to an early lead in the second that proved insurmountable.
Williams barely squeaked out a victory in their semifinal game against the seventh seeded Trinity Bantams, with a missed lay-up in the dying embers of the game proving decisive to set up a heavily anticipated rematch with Hamilton in the playoffs.
The Continentals will have their hands full on the defensive end of the court. The Ephs have two of the five leading scorers in the NESCAC in James Heskett and Bobby Casey who averaged 19.6 and 16.2 points per game respectively during the regular season. Both Heskett and Casey are lethal from three-point land, each averaging over 44 percent from deep.
However, the Continentals possess the firepower necessary to compete with the Williams’ dual threat, leading the conference in points scored per game as a team. Williams proved it is capable of counteracting the strong Hamilton offense with a lock-down defensive effort, holding the Continentals to their season low in scoring when the teams last faced off in early Feb.
The Continentals and Ephs will tip off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 24, with the season on the line for both squads. Neither team will have the benefit of home-court advantage, as number one seed Amherst will host both the semifinals and championship game. The winner will take on the victor of the Amherst-Wesleyan game for the NESCAC title on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2:30 p.m. The Continentals will not only hope to take home the NESCAC Championship, but also earn a spot in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
