SPORTS NEWS: Mammoths Hit Hard, but Can't Keep Pace as UMW Advances to Sweet 16
It took a while for UMW to crack Amherst College's defense, but once they did, the Mammoths couldn't keep up with the Eagles.
By Martin Davis
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
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For the first 20 minutes Saturday night, Amherst College’s defense made a statement. It came to play — hard.
With each offensive possession, the University of Mary Washington Eagles had to fight through bruising picks, and driving the lane meant running through a sea of hands and the occasional elbow or hip.
Forward Jadon Burgess paid a physical price early in the first half, getting his nose bloodied.
The Eagles as a unit paid a shooting price, hitting just 40.7% from the field in the first half, including a meager 2-9 from beyond the three-point arc.
The Mammoths of Amherst shot only marginally better, but converted on 6 of 15 threes to give them a 34-33 lead going into the locker room.
How they got that lead right as time was expiring, however, may have sparked the Eagles’ second half shooting onslaught that saw UMW separate early after the break and go on to win 81-64 and advance to the Sweet 16.
Amherst’s Elias Chin took the inbound pass following a UMW score with just over 6 seconds to play before half. Pushing the ball up court, he lobbed a hail-Mary three right in front of UMW Coach Marcus Kahn. Chin was double-teamed and feel hard to the floor. The official called foul and awarded Chin three shots.
Kahn — generally cool on the sideline — objected strenuously to the official’s call.
Chin missed the first free throw, then sank the following two.
When the second half got underway, the Mammoths banked a long three, to go up by four. It was the last lead they would hold.
In the first five minutes of the second half, UMW outscored Amherst 16-5, including a 10-0 run before a media timeout stopped play with 14:47 to play.
The Eagles would stretch that run by outscoring Amherst 38-7 before the Mammoths put together a string of 3s in the second half that got them as close as 14 to the Eagles, but no closer.
“Our model all year,” said Kye Robinson in the postgame interviews, has “been like once we figure you out … I feel like there’s … really no escape.”
Ulysses Young sparked the Eagles’ offense in the second half, going four-for-four on threes and ending the game with 19 points.
Only Robinson scored more — 22 points — on 8-of-16 shooting (four buckets in each half) and 6-of-9 free throws.
The Eagles now advance to the Sweet 16 where next weekend they will face the University of Wisconsin - La Crosse at home in the Anderson Center. Should they win that game, they’ll take on the winner of Gustavus Adolphous and the University of Chicago, who will also play at the Anderson Center.
The return to the Sweet 16 is particularly sweet for this team. Last year’s run was something of a surprise, but that didn’t take any of the sting out of the team’s 1-point loss to Emory.
That loss left “a bad taste in our mouth,” said Robinson, “so we’ve … been itching to … get back to this point.
For Kahn, this return trip will be particularly sweet.
“Playing at home is a huge advantage,” he said. Though he’s been to the Sweet 16 a number of times in his career, he said “I’ve never been at home for a Sweet 16 game in my career.”
Two additional Virginia teams remain in the tournament — Christopher Newport, which defeated Washington & Jefferson 90 - 61 to advance; and Randolph-Macon, which punched its ticket by beating TCNJ 68 - 45.
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