When the Amherst men's basketball team took the floor to take on Washington University in St. Louis at the Salem Civic Center Saturday, there was more at stake than just a national championship.
There was also the legacy of one of the best senior classes in the program's history. With 111 wins under their belts over four years, tied for the most by any Amherst class, the seniors' quest for 112 brought with it a chance for a national championship. And those seniors - point guard and captain Andrew Olson, along with his four big men, Kevin Hopkins, Fletcher Walters, Brandon Jones and Matt Goldsmith - came up short. A lopsided 90-68 loss to Wash U ended their championship run, their season and their careers. Not an easy outcome to put into perspective - but here's to trying.
"You have to remember there are only two teams playing in the national championship game," said their 31-year veteran coach, David Hixon. "That's all. Just to get there is an amazing journey ... We've had some unbelievable experiences together, this group of seniors."
Their run came to an end in frustrating fashion. The Lord Jeffs were out-hustled up and down the floor and out-muscled under the basket time and time again. Wash U took a 13-point lead into the locker room at halftime and wouldn't relinquish it, never letting the Lord Jeffs closer than six points. The Bears shot 70 percent from the floor in the second half and piled it on in the final minutes.
"They were terrific," Hixon said. "They did to us today what we've had the pleasure of doing to other people. They stuck it to us. They executed, they took us out of our stuff, and my hat goes off to them. They were absolutely terrific."
For Olson, a four-year starter and two-time All-American point guard, it was a particularly aggravating day. He was harassed all day long by the Bears' tenacious guards, and he finished with an uncharacteristic eight turnovers. Afterward, he gave Wash U all the credit.
"It was a great defensive effort overall," Olson said. "They took us out of our game, especially in the first half. When we were getting pressured, I feel like we took a step back instead of taking a step forward."
On the defensive end, the Jeffs were plagued down low by tournament MVP Troy Ruths, the Wash U senior big man who terrorized them with 33 points on 9-of-13 shooting and 15-of-17 from the free throw line, along with eight rebounds.
"You've got to tip your hat to a guy like that," Hopkins said. "He worked hard, he got good position and he finished some great shots. I can't say enough about the kid. He played a great game."
Couple Ruths' scoring down low with the outside threats of sophomore Aaron Thompson, another All-Tournament selection who drained three threes in the title game, and senior Danny O'Boyle, who knocked down two, and you've got a potent combination. It was the first 90-point game Amherst had allowed all season.
"I guess the thing that makes [Ruths] so good is that all the kids shoot the ball so well," Hixon said. "So the times that we did double down, we scrambled around a little bit - and bang bang bang, two or three passes later, they knock down the three, and it just breaks your heart."
The closest Amherst would come was 55-49, when junior Brian Baskauskas streaked to the basket for a layup with 15:07 left. But the Bears answered with a 14-2 run, making it difficult to mount a comeback. Somehow, the Jeffs stayed confident.
"We believed we could do it the whole game, really - until 55 seconds left, when Coach finally told us 'It's over,'" Walters said. "I know I didn't give up, and I feel like we really stuck together. We just couldn't put the last piece into the puzzle."
After Wash U finished on a 6-0 burst to ice the win for good, the confetti poured from the rafters in Salem and the Bears celebrated their title. For an Amherst team that had just won the national championship a year ago, watching the celebration from the outside looking in was a haunting experience.
"I'll lie awake some nights trying to figure out what I could have done to help us do a little bit better tonight," Hixon said. "I wish we could have done better tonight, but I'm so proud of these guys and what they've accomplished."
As the five seniors finished their careers, they pledged to remain close friends off the court. They couldn't have it any other way.
"We're roommates; we live together," Jones said. "There's more than just the wins and losses on the court. We've grown up together; we've matured together. I'd say we're the closest thing to being brothers as you could be without sharing blood."
"I couldn't have asked for a better four years with these guys," Goldsmith added. "It's been an amazing run. It didn't end as well as we wanted it to, but it was an amazing run."
For Hixon, losing doesn't get easier after 31 years. On Saturday he still remembered the thrill of victory he had experienced a year ago, and he was forced to see that same ecstasy in his opposing coach, the Bears' 27-year veteran Mark Edwards.
"I saw it in Mark's eyes, when I shook his hand," Hixon said. "The first thing he said to me was 'Coach, now I know how you felt last year.' And that was hard for me. God bless Mark - he's a good man, and I love him. But it was hard for me, knowing what it feels like to be there, and to fall just a bit short. A bit short."
