Over the Hump: Amherst Basketball Downs Connecticut College 73-54

For senior day last Saturday, Men’s Basketball hosted Connecticut College (Conn) in LeFrak Gymnasium. Before the opening tipoff, Chris Hammond ’26 and Drew Martin ’26 were both recognized at center court for their time at Amherst. Head Coach Marlon Sears spoke glowingly about his two senior leaders, saying that “Chris has just been incredible for us” and that Drew Martin is “on fire right now.” Combined, the duo account for over a thousand career points, four NESCAC All-Academic team honors, and nearly 100 starts. Hammond is the team’s captain, its leading scorer, and has been a key starting piece since his sophomore season. Martin has joined Hammond in the starting lineup this season and has been a defensive anchor all year. 

Entering the game, both teams had already secured their places in the NESCAC tournament, though their seeding remained uncertain. Conn College had followed an impressive win against Wesleyan University with an away victory against Hamilton to enter Saturday’s bout on a two-game winning streak, with Amherst seeking to build on its own five-game winning streak. 

Amherst jumped out of the gates hot, and, appropriately, it was Hammond involved in the early action for the Mammoths. He made the first basket of the game on a nifty inside move and followed it up with a 3-pointer two possessions later. The Mammoth defense was also stifling early on, forcing the Camels into seven straight misses to begin the contest. Hammond credited a little extra juice for the quick start, noting that the Mammoths were “really fired up to be able to finish the regular season undefeated at home.” After five minutes of play, Amherst had burst to an early 11-3 lead, which foreshadowed a largely dominant Mammoth performance — on both sides of the ball. 

Defensively, Amherst took away Conn’s go-to offensive moves. The Camels love the three-ball — they have attempted the most in the NESCAC this season — but Amherst didn’t give them an inch beyond the arc. Pesky doubles after screens and great on-ball defense disrupted Conn’s ball movement; phenomenal interior defense prevented kick-out threes; and consistently strong contests denied the Camels any easy outside looks. “One of our keys was to take them off the three-point line…and I think we’re defending at a really high level right now,” Sears said about Amherst’s stout exterior defense 

Shooting a meager 5-for-32 from deep over the afternoon, Conn was forced outside their comfort zone on the offensive end and proved unable to generate consistent scoring on offense. Connecticut College finished the game with a season-low points total, having been held to 54 points by an airtight Mammoth defense.

Offensively, Amherst was sizzling in the first half and methodical in the second. With Hammond providing an early (and recurring) spark, the Mammoth offense went on a tear for the first 20 minutes. Alongside Hammond’s 10 points, guard Marc Garraud ’27 registered nine, and freshman sensation KJ Neville ’29 clocked seven in the first half. Garraud checked in at the 14:26 mark and hit a bevy of tough shots, including a contested baseline jumper, a length-of-the-court drive in transition, and a cold-blooded three as the shot clock expired. Neville, for his part, simply shot it perfectly, hitting each of his three attempted field goals. Elite shotmaking characterized the whole of Amherst’s first half, as the Mammoths shot a blazing 64% from the field and 50% from three over the period. 

In the second half, those shooting splits came back down to earth, but Amherst still generated good offense. Guard Sherron Woodberry ’29 stepped up, hitting a pair of threes and getting to the charity stripe four times to tally 10 second-half points. Alongside him rose forward Nate Pabis ’27, who played a little bit of bully ball inside, made a triple, and hit some free throws of his own to clock seven second-half points. Hammond still produced, as expected, knocking down his third three of the afternoon en route to five second-half points. 

The comparatively tame offensive output of the second half reflected Amherst’s versatility in getting it done. In the first half, the Mammoths blitzed Conn, pushing the ball in transition, beating man-to-man defense off the dribble, and passing around zones to find the open man. In the second half, though, Amherst slowed its tempo and relied upon its resilient defense to nurse a comfortable lead.

Such control was really felt for the final 15 minutes of the game. For a moment, the game accelerated, with a big-time Camel block and 3-pointer cutting the Mammoths’ lead to 11 with 16 minutes left. But Hammond hit a monster three to calm the ship, Garraud hit a steadying layup of his own, and Amherst had retaken control. Sophomore Elias Chin ’28 handled the ball with composure and, a reflection of a mature and disciplined team, Amherst never led by less than 11 again, stretching the lead to 19 by the game’s end. 

Amherst next hits the road for a trip with games against Middlebury and Williams to end the season. Sears has his team focused on the process, saying that his group is just “trying to get better each day in practice” as the postseason approaches. But, as Hammond says, this team is playing “[their] best basketball of the year” right now and is in the mix for their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2019. 

With only two more games before the postseason arrives, it’s an exciting time to be watching men’s basketball.