Mammoths Pull Away in Second Half, Upend Owls 72-57

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Amherst College sophomore center Will Scherer (Darnestown, Md.) totaled a game high 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Mammoths outscored Westfield State by 14 points in the second half to defeat the Owls 72-57 on a Monday night from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

Amherst opened up the first sizeable lead of the game midway through the first half, ripping off a 12-0 run capped off by a Bobby Sommers (Southborough, Mass.) triple to give the Mammoths a 27-16 lead with 7:27 left in the period. The Owls responded with an 8-0 burst of their own with JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) burying consecutive threes to trim the deficit to three points.

Both teams traded buckets down the stretch, with Gerry McManus (Hudson, Mass.) converting a layup to draw Westfield within one-point heading into halftime with Amherst leading 34-33. Thompson scored 15 of the Owls 33 first-half points.

The Mammoths began the second half on a 9-0 run with Westfield failing to score a basket until 13:58 remaining in the game as Amherst would open up a ten-point lead. Scherer compiled six points in the run. C.J. Mitchell (Windsor, Conn.) and Canin Reynolds (Bowie, Md.) nailed a pair of triples to push the lead up to 14 for Amherst.

The Owls would cut the deficit to six points with 8:11 to go after a three-pointer from Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, D.R.), a pair of free throws from Lance Lennon (Reading, Pa.) then a jumper from Eric Johnson (Houston, Texas) to bring the score to 56-50.

Amherst would eventually pull away down the stretch, scoring ten unanswered points to drive the lead back into double digits, 66-50 with just 4:51 remaining in the game, ultimately sealing the victory for the Mammoths. Westfield shot 7-25 (28%) in the second half compared to an efficient 13-20 (65%) from the field for Amherst.

Thompson finished the night with a team-leading 15 points with Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) joining Thompson as the other double-digit scorer for Westfield with ten. McManus led the Owls in assists (seven), rebounds (five), and steals (three).

Noah Helmke (Great Barrington, Mass.) and Sommers joined Scherer in double-figure scoring, with Helmke supplying 15 points and six rebounds while Sommers added 12 points and five assists.

Amherst shot over 54% (27-50) from the field overall while the Owls connected on 34.9% (22-63) of their field goal attempts. The Mammoths also held a +11-rebound advantage (40-29) on the glass.

Westfield State will return to conference play on Wednesday as the Owls will host Fitchburg State at 5:30 P.M. Amherst returns home to host Wesleyan University in NESCAC play on Friday, January 27 at 7:00 P.M.