MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Despite fighting back with a 19-9 run to clench a one-point lead late into the second half, the Amherst men's basketball team struggled to secure a win against an undefeated Wesleyan University Saturday afternoon, losing 65-58 in a tight NESCAC Tournament quarterfinal in the Silloway Gymnasium.

Amherst will close its season 13-12 overall and 4-6 in NESCAC play. Wesleyan will continue in the NESCAC tournament with a 25-0 overall record and a 10-0 finish in the conference.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*Sophomore Marc Garraud opened the game for the Mammoths with a three-pointer fed by senior Bobby Sommers to equalize the showdown at 3-3 with 18:47 to play.

*Down 10-3 with 15:22 remaining, Amherst responded with a 6-0 rally highlighted by a three-pointer fired from junior Chris Hammond at the wing to make it 10-6. Under thirty seconds later, Hammond stole a Cardinal pass and sped pole to pole to give junior Drew Martin a layup. The attempt bounced out of the iron, but a rebound and a bucket from senior Ryker Vance cut Wesleyan's advantage to 10-9 with 14:40 remaining in the stanza.

*Both teams traded buckets for the next five minutes, with Martin and first-year Elias Chin converting shots from the paint to match three-pointers from Cardinal senior Nicky Johnson and Cardinal first-year Zach Wolinski.

*Fouls smothered Amherst's momentum in the final five minutes of the half as a 10-1 run from Wesleyan extended the host's lead to 35-21 with 52 seconds left. As the final minute ticked away, Hammond notched a bucket from behind the arc and Chin netted a pull-up jumper to weaken Wesleyan's lead to 35-26 at the close of the half.

*Vance hit a floating jump shot and a free throw at the start of the second half to bring Amherst within 6 points of the Cardinals at 35-29. Two minutes later, a floating jump shot from senior Will Scherer and an emphatic three-pointer from Sommers made it a four-point game at 38-34 with 17:00 to play.

*Scherer and Sommers partnered up again following a 4-0 response from the Cardinals to net a layup and a three-pointer respectively, taking Amherst within three points of Wesleyan at 42-39. Vance added a floating jump shot under one minute later to make it a one-point game at 42-21.

*The Mammoths won their first lead of the game after a strong floating jump shot from senior C.J. Mitchell took Amherst past Wesleyan to 45-44 with 12:11 to play.

*Fouls plagued the Mammoths and sent Wesleyan into bonus with ten minutes to play, leading Wesleyan to regain their lead and extend their advantage to 52-47 with 5:20 remaining.

*Hammond hit a big three-pointer from behind the arc with just under five minutes remaining to make it a two-point game at 52-50. The Cardinals responded with a 5-1 run of their own, but Mitchell fired back with a three-pointer and Vance netted a turnaround jumper with 2:57 to go to make it 57-56.

*Foul shooting dominated the rest of the game as the Mammoths struggled to find the inside of the rim. While desperate Amherst three-pointers failed to convert, Wesleyan racked up free throw points to close the showdown 65-58.

BY THE NUMBERS:

*Amherst held a narrow advantage in field goals and three-pointers converted, shooting 41.5% (22-53) of field goals compared to 41.1% (23-56) from Wesleyan, and 34.8% of three-pointers compared to 31.8% from the Cardinals. Wesleyan led in free throw conversions, netting 80% of free throws compared to 75% from the Mammoths.

*Wesleyan senior Shane Regan led as the game's top scorer with 27 points. Off the Amherst bench, Vance led with 13 points, Mitchell and Hammond close behind him with 11 and 10 points respectively. 

*Scherer won a game-high 10 rebounds, and Vance made a game-high 3 blocks. Chin led with the most assists of any player, passing 6, and also tied for the most steals, winning 3.