The number two seeded Amherst men’s basketball team matched up against seventh-seed Bowdoin in last weekend’s NESCAC quarterfinal action. The purple and white pulled a win out of a closely contested game against the 12-11 Polar Bears with the help of a spectacular performance by senior Connor Green, named co-NESCAC player of the week after his 29-point effort.

Amherst came out strong in the beginning of the first half with flexible offensive play, driving consistently into the key while still showing off their phenomenal outside shooting. And as always, the outside shooting didn’t disappoint. The purple and white scored 36 of their 83 points from behind the arc, shooting 40 percent from distance and 46.6 percent from the field. With ten minutes left in the first half, Amherst held their largest lead of the game after Jeff Racy ’17 hit two free throws to put the team up by 14 points.

Eleven Amherst fouls, coupled with timely shooting, allowed the Polar Bears to tie up the game at 30 with six minutes left in the first half, but the purple and white managed to hang on to their lead, heading into the locker room at halftime with a six-point advantage.
A strong start by Bowdoin coming into the second half propelled the Polar Bears to another tie score at 48 before Johnny McCarthy ’18 came up big with a made jumper followed by a strong drive into the key for a contested layup.

From there, the two teams battled through three more tie scores, Bowdoin never managing to pull ahead. A three-point play by McCarthy and timely free throw shooting by Eric Conklin ’17 put momentum back in the hands of the purple and white, who went on a run to go up by nine with less than two minutes left to play. Two made free throws by Racy sealed the game for Amherst as they wrapped up play at a score of 83-76.
This win allows Amherst to advance to the NESCAC semifinals against number three seed Tufts at 4 p.m. at Trinity this Saturday, Feb. 27. This will be a huge test for the purple and white. The Jumbos handed them one of their only two conference losses this season two weekends ago when the purple and white traveled to Medford.