Jumbos lose heartbreaker to Williams 64-63

Senior guard Mike McGlynn's running shot rimmed out with six seconds remaining as the Jumbos fell to the Williams College Ephs 64-63 in the semi-finals of the NESCAC tournament last Saturday afternoon. With the loss, the Jumbos season ended with an overall 12-13 record, and a 5-4 mark in conference play. The Ephs, ranked third in the nation, moved on to defeat the top seeded Amherst Lord Jeffs 74-70 in yesterday's NESCAC finals.

"I wanted to step back and shoot it but the guy was crowding me so I went by him and they all collapsed on me," McGlynn said of the last sequence. "It was a tough shot, it wasn't like a wide open lay-up The play was designed to me, and that's the way I wanted it. The shot just didn't go down."

The Jumbos came out strong, amassing an early 6-0 lead to start the game. The Ephs, however, quickly countered with an 8-0 run of their own to take the lead with 14 minutes remaining in the first half. The two teams spent the rest of the half trading baskets and the lead until Williams junior forward Ben Coffin hit two consecutive buckets at the end of the half to give the Ephs a 33-27 lead going into the intermission.

Williams started the second with a vengeance, slowly building on its three-point lead. With 10:23 left in the second half, Williams sophomore forward Tucker Kain nailed a three from the corner to give the Ephs an 11 point lead, its largest margin of the game.

After a timeout, Tufts quickly battled back with a 10-0 run of its own over the next three minutes to put the Jumbos within one. But Williams went on another mini 6-0 run of its own, increasing the lead back up to seven with 5:36 remaining on a trey from junior co-captain Michael Crotty. With just over three minutes remaining, the Jumbos once again quickly closed the gap to 59-57 on a three by McGlynn.

As was the theme of the contest, the Ephs countered Tufts with a 5-1 run of their own, going up 64-58 with 1:50 left in the game. McGlynn, on the ensuing possession, was fouled on a three-point attempt, giving him three opportunities from the charity stripe. McGlynn nailed all three and after a solid defensive stop, Tufts regained possession. The Jumbos worked the ball to sophomore center Craig Coupe who spun into the paint and dropped in a bucket to put Tufts within one with just 53 seconds left.

After another solid defensive sequence, Tufts jumped back on the offensive and gave McGlynn the call. After McGlynn's shot rimmed out, Coffin grabbed his game high 14th rebound and was immediately fouled. Coffin headed to the free throw line for a one and one, and after missing the first, senior co-captain Brian Shapiro immediately grabbed the board and called timeout. The Jumbos were forced to advance the ball the length of the floor with just 3.9 seconds remaining, and Jim Wilson misfired on a desperation heave from half-court as the final buzzer sounded.

"Mike's been our guy the whole year. When it comes to scoring, he's a great shooter and he's a play maker. If he couldn't get the shot he was gonna drop it to me," Coupe said. "He got a good look, he just didn't make the shot, that's how things go and it's too bad that had to happen. I had all the confidence in the world in him taking that shot."

The Jumbos were led by McGlynn, who tallied 15 points, and seven assists, and Coupe, who scored 13 points, grabbed 9 boards and dished out four assists. McGlynn also went 2-5 from the three-point line.

Shapiro, who had been hot of late, went 3-8 from the field and 0-5 from the three-point line for six points in 15 minutes of play in his last basketball game as a Jumbo.

"This whole year I've been inconsistent. I feel like games like last week happen few and far between this season. But I wasn't gonna stop shooting," Shapiro said. "They run their stuff really well, but their strength is their defense, they play defense really well, it's hard to get open shots, they make you force a lot of stuff."

The Ephs were led by Coffin, who put together a career day for Williams with a career-high 31 points and a season and game high 14 rebounds. The Jumbos held Williams' all conference center Drew DeMuth to just four points and seven rebounds in 32 minutes of play, and limited Ephs third leading scorer, junior Chuck Abba, to zero points in 29 minutes.

"To come in here, to play them, to have a chance to win, it's just a good thing," coach Bob Sheldon said.