WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Williams senior Spencer Spivy blocked Amherst junior Mohammed Alausa's three-point attempt in the final seconds as Williams College rallied for a 66-65 win over the Amherst College men's basketball team on Wednesday night at Chandler Gymnasium.

The Ephs, ranked sixth in the nation in the latest D3hoops.com poll, won their fourth straight game to improve to 16-1 this season, with the only loss coming to Amherst earlier this month. The Mammoths fell to 6-10 after this non-conference matchup between the two ancient rivals that put Williams in the catbird seat for the Little Three Championship at 2-1, though all three schools still have a chance to earn a share of the title.

The Mammoths return to action on Saturday (Jan. 21), returning to NESCAC play with a visit to Hamilton for a 2 p.m. contest.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* The two teams matched each other nearly basket for basket in the early going until the score was tied at 13-13. From there, the Mammoths scored seven unanswered points to take a 20-13 lead when sophomore center Will Scherer scored midway through the first half.

* The Ephs came back to tie the game at 32-32 with 2:39 to play in the first half but the Mammoths reclaimed the lead on a putback layup from first-year center Giovanni Tam and followed that with a steal and a pull-up three from sophomore guard Canin Reynolds, setting Amherst up to take a 39-34 lead to halftime.

* The Mammoths opened the second half with a pair of field goals on consecutive possessions from Alausa and sophomore forward Noah Helmke to take a nine-point lead, the largest lead for either side in the game.

* Williams chipped away and got back within one on a three-pointer from junior center Nate Karren midway through the second half. Sophomore forward Declan Porter gave the Ephs the lead on their next possession, hitting all three free throws after he was fouled beyond the arc.

* Alausa and Karren traded threes, then Reynolds and Spivy each hit three-pointers with the lead changing on each made basket. Helmke drained a jumper to put the Mammoths up, 60-59, with 4:26 to play, but Spivy came right back with another three on the next trip up the floor.

* After Spivy scored to give the Ephs a four-point lead with a minute to play, Helmke hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to one. Karren's three-point attempt with 11 seconds to play missed and sophomore forward Ryker Vance won the rebound. After several timeouts, the Mammoths inbounded the ball with 5.1 seconds on the clock but Alausa's shot was blocked to secure the win for Williams.

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Helmke led the Mammoths with 14 points and was joined in double figures by Vance's 11 points and a 10-point effort from Reynolds.

* Karren led all scorers with 25 points and 6 rebounds for the Ephs.

* Both teams had strong nights shooting as the Mammoths shot 52 percent (26-of-50) from the floor, their highest shooting percentage of the season, and were 47 percent (9-of-19) from beyond the arc. The Ephs shot 46 percent (20-of-44) from the floor and 52 percent (11-of-21) from beyond the arc.

* The Mammoths won the battle on the boards with a 31-22 advantage in rebounds, the largest rebounding deficit the Ephs have faced this season.