Springfield, Mass. – December 9, 2023 – Williams College, ranked No. 18 in the latest D3hoops.com national poll, defeated the Springfield College men's basketball team by a 61-56 final on Saturday afternoon inside Blake Arena.

Springfield now sits at 2-5 overall, while Williams improved to 9-1 on the season.

Springfield was guided by junior Gary Bess (Miami, Fla.), who notched a season-best 23 points in addition to five rebounds, in 23 minutes off the bench. Junior Curtiss Blische (Barkhamsted, Conn.) tallied 12 points and five boards, while sophomore Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) registered 10 points and nine rebounds in the effort. Alex Stoddard led Williams with 13 points this afternoon.

Williams jumped out to an 8-2 edge following a three pointer from Cole Prowitt-Smith before Springfield answered with a 16-4 run over a span of six minutes to gain an 18-12 advantage midway through the first. The spurt featured six different scorers for Springfield and was capped by a turnaround jumper from junior Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.). The Pride maintained its advantage and built the lead to as many as 11 points on three different occasions for a 35-24 margin at the break.

Evely and Bess guided Springfield with nine points apiece in the first half as the Pride shot at a 46.9-percent clip over the opening 20 minutes of play and turned 11 Williams turnovers into 15 points in the stanza.

Williams outscored Springfield by an 11-3 margin to open the second to even the score at 37-37 with 13:50 to play. Springfield answered, however, and regained a six point edge at 45-39 after a three point play from Bess. A pair of free throws from Sammy Cooley and Isiaha Dickins in addition to a trey by Stoddard gave the Ephs a 46-45 edge a few moments later and they would not look back en route to the road win.

Nate Karren and Stoddard drilled shots from behind the arc for Williams to put the game out of reach and the Ephs knocked down six of ten shots from the free throw line down the stretch to account for the 61-56 final.

Springfield scored 30 points in the paint and 18 points off 15 Williams turnovers.

The Pride will return to action on Saturday, December 30 against the College of Mount Saint Vincent in the opening game of the 2023 Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic at 12:00 pm.

For the latest on Springfield College Athletics, follow the Pride on social media on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.