AMHERST — Late, clutch shots by Tim McCarthy and Grant Robinson helped the Amherst College men’s basketball team beat Springfield, 71-66, at LeFrak Gymnasium Tuesday.
The Mammoths (7-1) held Springfield without a field goal in the final two minutes to pull away.
“We are still trying to figure out who we are,” Amherst coach David Hixon said. “We are going through some learning pains.”
Jake Ross, of Northampton, returned to Hampshire County and scored 11 points with seven rebounds and three assists.
“We’ll figure it out,” Ross said. “We are making leaps and bounds. Definitely won’t want to see us down the road.”
Ross looked to distribute early, and scored mostly from the 3-point line, going 3-for-10. Late in the game, Ross had to come out due to cramps.
“Jake is like a son to me,” Hixon said. “He grew up at my camp here. I know his family from way back when. I felt badly for him.”
Defending Ross was a priority for the Mammoths, who lost to Springfield last season when they were ranked No. 1.
“It’s tough,” Hixon said. “You got to be all over him. He is really good.”
Ross returned to the game in the final minute, but was limited.
“I couldn’t move,” Ross said.
Springfield (4-3) had a nine-point lead in the first half, and led 53-47 with just under 10 minutes to play, but the Mammoths always seemed to have an answer.
One major reason Springfield could not stretch the lead out was the play of Amherst’ Fru Che, who finished with 17 points, five assists and five rebounds.
Che came off the bench and 7-for-11 from the floor, including 3-for-5 from the 3-point line.
Twice after Amherst timeouts, Che helped the Mammoths get back to within one possession of the Pride.
“He’s (Che) doing great for us,” Hixon said. “He can shoot the three. He is gifted.”
South Hadley’s Cam Earle played five minutes for Springfield and went 0-for-3 from the floor.
After a McCarthy 3-pointer, an Eric Sellew (13 points) basket cut and finish gave the Mammoths a 67-62 lead with 1:48 left in the game.
Twice in the final minute, Springfield’s Andy McNulty drew fouls shooting 3-pointers. McNulty made 2-of-3 the first time to pull the Pride within 67-64 with 29 seconds left.
Robinson got the ball late in the shot clock and pulled up near the top of the key. Robinson’s shot swished, giving Amherst a 69-64 lead with five seconds left.
After McNulty made 2-of-3 from the line again, Sellew put the game out of reach with a couple free throws.
Johnny McCarthy added 16 points for the Mammoths. Heath Post led Springfield with 18 points, with Trey Witter scoring 11 on 5-for-7 from the floor.
