Men's Basketball Loses Hockenbury Tournament Final To Williams, 70-52

Northfield, VT --- Williams sophomore Mike Epley (Louisville, KY) registered a game-best 16 points to lead four players in double-figures as he would help lead the Ephs to a 70-52 triumph over Worcester State in the Hockenbury Tournament Championship hosted by Norwich this afternoon.

Williams, who is ranked seventh in the latest D3hoops.com poll, improve its record to 5-1 while the Lancers slip to 2-4 on the season.

Second-year Michael Mayer (Durham, NC) and classmate Hayden Rooke-Ley (Eugene, OR) came off the bench to net 12 and 11 points, respectively as junior James Klemm (Highlands Ranch, CO) added 11.

The Blue and Gold were paced by junior Robert Hunter's (St. Louis, MO) third double-double of the season (14 points – 11 rebounds) while senior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) notched 13 points.

Third-year Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) chipped in with 12 points and eight boards and classmate Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA/Diman Vocational) handed out a season-best nine assists. Sophomore Mike Gittens (Uncasville, CT) also tallied 10 points for the Blue and Gold.

Williams led 19-11 midway though the first period before Worcester State took advantage of five straight misses from beyond the arc to go up 22-19 at the 7:19 mark with an 11-0 run.

But then the Ephs took control as they would close out the period by outscoring the Lancers 17-4 for the 36-26 advantage at the halftime break. 10 of their 17 points in the spurt would come off of four WSU miscues as Williams would finish the contest with a 20-7 edge in the category.

In the second period, Williams would put the contest into double-figures five minutes into the frame on and never looked back to earn the championship trophy.

Stephenson and Epley earned All-Tournament honors while senior Nate Robertson (Ann Arbor, MI) was named the MVP.

The Lancers could not stop the hot shooting of the Ephs as they would finish 48 percent from the field (24-for-50) – including 54 percent (13-for-24) in the second period. Williams only turned the ball over nine times for the contest and had 13 assists for 24 made field goals.

WSU out-rebounded their opponents 35-29 for the game, finished with a 12-4 edge on the offensive glass and added an 11-4 margin in second chance points. They would finish with 13 assists for 20 made shots from the field.

Both teams will host LEC opponents in the next week at 7 PM. Worcester State entertains UMass Darmouth on Tuesday while Williams takes on Keene State.