With the postseason looming on the horizon, the sixth-ranked men’s basketball team continues to make adjustments and build confidence for the final stretch of the season. In addition, the past few weeks have tested the Jeffs’ composure against enemy crowds, as seven of their last eight games have come on the road. The last two trips took place over the last week, as Amherst went up against conference foes Bates and Tufts on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Popular sports discussion has changed immensely in the last few years, transforming everything from how games are covered to the topics that keep talk shows going strong. Among myriad other novelties, we now hear about trades and injuries on Twitter before the athlete in question has even learned of his fate or gone to the hospital for an MRI.
The men’s basketball team hit the road this week to tip off against a pair of NESCAC opponents in Williams and Trinity before coming home on Tuesday to take on Rhode Island College.
While all three games were valuable experiences, the contest against the hated Ephs was an especially riveting match-up. Williams jumped ahead briefly in the first half, but the Jeffs fought back to go into halftime with the score favoring Amherst at 39–31.
While much of the Amherst student body finished the fall semester and went off to enjoy the holidays, the men’s basketball team remained hard at work throughout December and the first few days of the new year to build momentum over the middle of the season’s slate of games.
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The men’s basketball team took the short trip to Springfield last weekend for the Pioneer Valley Classic, a tournament that Amherst has dominated in recent years. The Jeffs lived up to expectations, taking home the championship with wins on Friday and Saturday.
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While many students were leaving campus for Thanksgiving break on the weekend of Nov. 18, the men’s basketball team opened its season by hosting the Ken Wright ’52 Memorial Invitational Tournament in LeFrak Gymnasium. The Jeffs came out in full force to dominate both games and defend their title.
After advancing to the Elite Eight in last year’s NCAA Tournament, the Amherst men’s basketball team hit the practice courts with a vengeance over the summer and fall in order to further improve on the impressive accomplishments of the 2010-11 squad.
