Williams, Bowdoin to host final four's next weekend

It was a busy weekend on New England's Div. III basketball courts. The quarterfinal rounds of both the men's and women's NESCAC championship tournaments brought few surprises for the top three seeds, but saw both number five seeds triumph over their fourth ranked opponents.

On the men's side, the number five Bates men blew out number four Bowdoin 87-52 on the Polar Bears' home court, while the women's number five Williams came out on top of number four Tufts, 73-52, here in Medford.

The remaining three high seeds won their respective games in both the men's and women's leagues and will advance to next weekend's semifinals.

On the men's side, number one Williams knocked off the eighth seeded Middlebury Panthers 74-52. The defending Div. III national champions look to repeat last year's performance with a core group of senior tri-captains leading the way. Micheal Crotty, Chuck Abba, and Ben Coffin were integral parts of last year's squad and return again lead the Ephs. Crotty averages 13.5 points per game (including the 14 he scored against Tufts on Valentine's Day) while Abba contributes 11.0 points per game and Coffin leads the team in rebounds with 9.6 per contest.

With their 67-65 win over Gustavus Adolphus in the NCAA tournament last year, the Ephs became the first NESCAC team ever to record a national championship in men's basketball. They are 24-1 this season, with their lone loss coming from Amherst on Jan. 10. Williams also defeated Div. I opponent and NCAA tournament participant Holy Cross 78-71 on the road on Dec. 4.

"To beat Williams, you have to execute very well and you have to be able to keep up with their transition game," senior co-captain Deyvehn East said. "As long as you can establish your game plan early you can have success, but if they establish theirs, it's pretty difficult to beat them. While anyone can beat anyone any given night in this league and there are a lot of talented teams in our league, from what I've seen, Williams is still on top and I don't think anyone will be able to beat them."

Fifth seeded Bates will face the Ephs in the semifinals on Saturday. The Bobcats tied their program record for wins this year by going 18-7. Senior Ramon Garcia and junior Brian Gerrity lead Bates in scoring averaging 14.3 and 14.6 points per game, respectively. Earlier this season, Bates fell to Williams in a tight 86-83 match.

Trinity and Amherst will square off in the battle between number two and three seeds. Both teams are ranked in the top ten in the nation -- Amherst is fourth, Trinity is tenth -- and will vie for a chance to play the winner of the Williams-Bates game in Sunday's championship. Amherst beat Trinity 68-66 in regular season play.

For the women, the juggernaut that is top seeded Bowdoin continued its undefeated season with a first round win over Colby, 68-37. The nation's number one ranked team boasts the best scoring defense in the country, holding its opponents to an average of just 44.3 points per game and normally beats its adversaries by over twenty points. Bowdoin is a three time defending NESCAC champion and last year went all the way to the Elite 8 in the NCAA national tournament.

"To beat Bowdoin, you really need to put a whole game together for 40 minutes and you can't be intimidated," sophomore guard Jessica Powers said. "You have to play your best defense because they have tough players, all of whom can score. All together Bowdoin is the best team and has a big advantage, but in the playoffs teams step up so you never know."

The Polar Bears will play a rematch of last year's semifinal game against Williams on Saturday. In 2003's game, Bowdoin downed the Ephs 57-46 to move on to the finals and eventually take the NESCAC crown.

Williams comes off of an upset win over Tufts on Saturday afternoon. The Ephs are 19-6 on the season and played Bowdoin to its closest match of the year on January 30. With just one second remaining in that game, Bowdoin eked it out with a 62-21 win to keep their unbeaten streak intact. If Williams is to have a shot against this formidable opponent this time around, it will have to play defense similar to that it played against the Jumbos.

Second seed Wesleyan is set to play third ranked Bates in the other women's semifinal. The Cardinals beat Bates twice during the regular season in two tight matches, 57-62 and 52-51. Wesleyan won its 20th game of the year in the first round against Middlebury on Saturday and is ranked third in the region. With this high standing, Wesleyan could earn a spot in the NCAA tournament even if it fails to snatch the NESCAC championship from Bowdoin.

The upcoming Saturday games, along with Sunday's finals, will be held at Williams for the men and Bowdoin for the women.

Though there were no major upsets on either the men's or women's courts, the weekend was packed with the drama only the playoffs can bring. Next weekend should be even more exciting as the remaining four teams in each league move closer to the NESCAC championship.