For most of the Amherst student body, March 16 marked the beginning of spring break. For the men's basketball team, it was the end of an era.
That was the night the Lord Jeffs trekked to Salem, Va. for the NCAA Div. III Final Four, their third such trip in four years. With two failed visits to Salem still lingering in their minds, the Jeffs finally broke their Final Four curse, topping Ohio powerhouse Wooster 67-60 to earn their first NCAA semifinal win in school history.
One night later, they had their second.
On March 17, behind the strength of a 12-0 run early in the first half, Amherst earned an 80-67 win over defending champion Virginia Wesleyan to capture its first-ever national title. The win was a refreshing turn of events for a Lord Jeffs team that entered the tournament 0-4 in Final Four play.
"I've never been so positive about winning a game as I was that night," said coach Dave Hixon, a 30-year veteran who earned his 550th career win that night. "We beat our ghosts that night. I've never seen a team as composed and as confident, even though we were playing the national champs."
Amherst's class of 2007 includes four seniors - quad-captains Dan Wheeler, Dan O'Shea, Tim McLaughlin and Mike Salerno - who teamed up for 111 wins in their four years with the Jeffs, a school record for any four-year stretch. As freshmen, however, they fell short in the 2004 Final Four, losing first to rival Williams and then to John Carroll in the consolation game. In 2006, they met a similar fate, falling to Wittenberg and then to Illinois Wesleyan.
"I believe going 0-4 in our past two trips gave us extra incentive," Wheeler said. "To come so close to achieving our goals in '04 and '06 and fall short was a huge disappointment. We left Salem last year with a bad taste in our mouths."
One obvious difference-maker this time around was breakout performance of junior point guard Andrew Olson. Olson had already made a name for himself prior to this season, winning NESCAC Rookie of the Year honors in 2005 and earning a spot on the all-conference second team as a sophomore, but this season he really came into his own.
"I felt much older [this year], and I think I played a lot older," Olson said. "The season before, I was getting much of the leadership from the captains, but as a junior point guard I kind of assumed more responsibility and more confidence for my team."
Olson's confidence showed, as he easily led the NESCAC in assists, setting new Amherst records for assists in a game (15), a season (243) and a career (535). His performance did not go unrecognized, as he was named NESCAC Player of the Year, a first-team All-American by D3hoops.com, Co-Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and ultimately, the MVP of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
While the Jeffs' trip to the national championship proved smoother than in years past - with the exception of Wooster, they beat all of their NCAA Tournament opponents by double digits - their last month of NESCAC play was a bit more difficult. After winning 23-consecutive games to start the season, their longest winning streak ever, they ran into trouble in February, losing both their regular-season finale at Trinity and their NESCAC title game bout with Williams.
"Those were the two biggest games of the season up until the playoffs," Olson said. "It was a little humbling and frustrating to lose close-out games, closing out an undefeated regular season and NESCAC championship."
The 62-59 heartbreaker at Trinity Feb. 10 was a tough loss, ending the Jeffs' bid for their first undefeated season, but the NESCAC title game was even tougher. The Lord Jeffs were heavily favored over their hated rivals from Williams, and after McLaughlin, Olson and O'Shea scored all of the game's first 15 points, a third-straight league title seemed a foregone conclusion. But Williams junior Chris Shalvoy hit five threes in the second half, propelling the Ephs to a 70-69 win and a Cinderella championship.
"The Williams loss was very important to us," Hixon said. "We were up 15-0 and 20-3 in that game, and we couldn't finish. That really shook our foundation, to know we could lose a game like that. Now we know we have to play every moment of every game."
And when the NCAAs rolled around a week later, the Jeffs refused to squander any minute in their five games. After a first-round bye, Amherst cruised past Widener in round two and Stevens in the Sweet Sixteen, setting up a meeting with Little East Conference-champion Rhode Island College for a trip to Salem.
"Rhode Island College was a very helpful game for us," Hixon said. "They had a different type of kids - they were tough city kids, and they did a lot of things you don't see in the NESCAC. That was a great prep game for us heading into Salem."
The Anchormen's tenacity showed, as they jumped out to an early 12-5 lead. But that lead didn't last. Olson scored 13 points in the first half, well on his way to a game-high 19, as Amherst rolled, 81-69.
After that came the Final Four, and for the first time, the Lord Jeffs got the Salem monkey off their backs. McLaughlin dropped 16 points on the Wooster Scots en route to an All-NCAA Tournament Team selection, and five Jeffs hit double figures against Virginia Wesleyan, led by Olson's 15.
"Wooster was a lot like us," Wheeler said. "A team with less height and more athleticism that liked to get up and down the court and shoot threes. Also, watching the national championship last year, I think we as a team felt we would have matched up well with Virginia Wesleyan, and that proved to be the case."
With one national championship under their belts, it's never too early for the Jeffs to start thinking about another. And Wheeler, who graduates May 27 alongside his three fellow captains, is confident that he's leaving behind a team that can repeat.
"If you look at who is replacing the seniors, you see that next year's team is going to be significantly bigger and more athletic than we were this year," Wheeler said. "There are times when we could send four guys 6'6"or taller out there with Olson. They are going to be a fun team to watch."
While Olson loses some valuable weapons from his arsenal - in addition to Wheeler, McLaughlin also averaged double figures in scoring - he is still bound to have plenty of talent around him. And Olson is ready to step up.
"One thing that our coach always says is that we will never be able to replace the seniors and be the same team we were," Olson said. "But it's the responsibility of the guys that are still in the program to step up and assume their own identity. I think we are very confident heading into next season, especially having six seniors next year."
Those six seniors include Olson; forward Fletcher Walters, who won a NESCAC Player of the Week award off the bench this year; center Kevin Hopkins, a 6'10" giant and one of the nation's best shot-blockers; and forward Brandon Jones, who came off the bench as one of the team's most athletic defenders. All in all, it's an outstanding group of players, fresh off their first 30-win season in program history and hungry for their second.
"I am really excited to see what Amherst can do next year," Wheeler said. "There is no doubt in my mind that they have the talent to repeat."
