Springfield, Mass. - December 11, 2021 - Playing its second nationally-ranked opponent of the week, the Springfield College men's basketball team was bested by Williams, 74-61, in Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Ephs, who were ranked 20th in the most recent D3hoops.com National Poll, pushed their record to 9-0, while the Pride closed out the first semester with a 2-7 record. 

Springfield had four players score in double figures, with Jacob Morales (Northvale, N.J.), Zeke Blauner (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.), and Panayiotis Kapanides (Bedford, Mass.) each scoring 11, while Daryl Costa (Providence, R.I.) recorded 10 points.  Tre Hodge (Springfield, Mass.) added eight points off the bench as the Pride shot 50% for the game, connecting on 22-of-44 attempts, including 12-of-24 from downtown. 

Declan Porter led all players with 24 points for Williams, while Cole Prowitt-Smith netted 15 and Spencer Spivy chipped in 14.  The Ephs held a 35-17 edge on the glass, including an 11-0 margin on the offensive boards, and outscored the hosts in the paint, 24-6.   The visitors finished the game with 15 three-pointers, including 11 in the opening 20 minutes of play. 

The Ephs canned three-pointers on their first three possessions in the early going to jump out to a 9-2 advantage just under two minutes into the contest.  The visitors would take a 27-14 on their seventh triple of the game and pushed their advantage to 46-26 inside two minutes when Porter pulled up from downtown in transition.  Williams, which held a 19-6 edge on the glass in the opening half, would take a 46-29 lead into the halftime break. 

Springfield opened up the second half on a 14-7 burst as Hodge drilled a three-pointer of his own at 14:29 to pull Springfield with 53-43.  The Pride's defense continued to play strong, as Williams was limited to just nine points through the opening 10 minutes of play, as a Morales three-pointer from the right win at 8:27 make it a 58-51 ball game.  The Pride would get it to seven points three times, the last coming when Costa stepped into a trifecta at 6:22 for a 63-56 game, only to have Williams close out the game on 11-5 surge en route to the 74-61 victory. 

Springfield will next host the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic on December 31 when it hosts Emmanuel at 3 pm. 

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