Mariners Fall to Williams in NCAA First Round
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mitchell (19-8) | 35 | 31 | 66 |
|
Williams (24-4) | 41 | 40 | 81 |
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Despite a game-high 31 points from junior forward Parris Hill, the Mitchell College men's basketball team came up short in its NCAA Tournament debut, falling 81-66 to ninth-ranked Williams College in Friday night's first round game at Chandler Gymnasium.
Hill shot 13-for-23 from the field and also pulled down 14 rebounds. Senior Joshua Ford finished with 18 points and a team-high 15 boards to round out the double-digit scorers for the Mariners (19-8 overall). Michael Mayer led Williams (24-4 overall) with 25 points and 15 rebounds. The Ephs advance to play Gordon College in the second round on Saturday.
Mayer scored the game's first six points to give Williams the early advantage, but Hill and Ford dug in and kept the Mariners in the contest. The duo combined for 14 of Mitchell's first 16 points, and a jumper by Hill tied the score at 16-16 with 12:57 to go in the first half.
A balanced scoring effort kept Williams in the lead. Hayden Rooke-Ley came off the bench and scored all nine of his points in the first half. Mayer and Taylor Epley each dropped in 10 points in the stanza as the Ephs shot 56 percent from the floor.
After early success against man-to-man coverage, the Mariners struggled when Williams switched to a 2-3 zone defense. Mitchell shot 16-for-24 from inside the arc in the half but went 0-for-7 from long range. Hill had 17 points at the break while Ford added 12, and Mitchell trailed just 41-35 at intermission.
"They're quick and athletic, and it catches you off guard," said Williams head coach Mike Maker. "It took us a while to get acclimated to it. Once we went to the zone, our length and IQ really helped us. They really put pressure on you in isolation. They've got two guys who—from 12 feet and in—might be two of the best in the country."
Williams shot well in the second half (47 percent) and extended the lead to double digits on a bucket by Epley with 16:34 to go. The Mariners cut the deficit back to nine on two different occasions but never got any closer.
Mayer netted 15 of his 25 points in the second half and added 12 rebounds to his total over the final 20 minutes. He also had five of his team's eight blocks and altered several shots around the rim.
Despite the loss, Mitchell head coach Todd Peretz had nothing but praise for his team in the postgame press conference.
"I look at where we were 3-4 years ago as a program, and we've improved so much," said Peretz. "I think we've established ourselves as a pretty good program. It's been tremendous to see the growth of the players. Alex Del Rio won one game as a freshman, and now as a senior he's in the NCAA Tournament. It hurts (the loss), but you can build on it."
