Amherst, Mass. - December 10, 2019 - Despite a spectacular second-half comeback, the Springfield College men's basketball team suffered a 76-70 setback to Amherst College on Tuesday night in a non-conference clash that featured a pair of nationally-ranked teams. 

The Pride, which was ranked No. 21 in the latest D3hoops.com National Poll, lost for the first time this season to drop to 7-1, while the 25th-ranked Mammoths improved to 5-2.

Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) totaled 31 points on 10-of-17 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and a pair of blocks, while Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) added 12 points and eight boards.  Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) chipped in 11 points off the bench.  Springfield committed 16 turnovers on the night and shot 25-for-55 (45.5%).

Five players scored in double figures for Amherst, led by Eric Sellew who stuffed his stat sheet with 17 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists. Amherst connected on 30-for-58 (51.7%) from the field, including 9-for-23 from beyond the arc. 

Amherst jumped out to a 10-2 lead just over five minutes into the game, but Springfield would answer back as Ross drilled a three-pointer at the 11:40 mark to spark a 10-0 run in which he scored eight of Springfield's points to put the visitors on top.  Amherst would respond with a 13-2 surge of their own to regain a 23-13 edge with 8:51 remaining in the half and would head into the halftime break with a 42-29 lead. 

The Mammoths lead would balloon to 17 points following another trifecta just over three minutes into the second half, making the score 52-35.  However, Springfield put together a tremendous comeback effort anchored by its defense, as over the next 9:01, Springfield manufactured a 25-8 burst that was capped off by a baseline jumper from Post which put the Pride on top, 60-58.   After the lead went back-and-forth five times, Noah Cummings (Epsom, N.H.) knocked down a huge three from the right wing to give the Pride a 68-67 edge, only to have a three-point play from Sellew with 1:41 remaining give Amherst the lead for good at 70-68. With under a minute to play, Ross knocked down a pair from the stripe to make it a one-point game, but Amherst would drill a three-pointer from the top of the arc the next time down to gain a four-point cushion en route to the win. 

Springfield will wrap up the first semester on Friday night when it travels to face Westfield State at 7 pm.

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