Westfield’s Grant Cooper dumps a pass to teammate Shane Pasquantonio for a layup during first-half action. (Photo by Mickey Curtis)
WESTFIELD – Senior guard Aaron Toomey (Greensboro, NC) poured in 37 points to power No. 1 ranked Amherst College to an 83-59 victory over Westfield State University in non-conference men’s basketball on Tuesday, Dec. 3.
Amherst – the reigning NCAA Division III national champions and ranked first in the country this season – boosted its record to 4-0 in winning its 28th straight game. Westfield is 4-2.
Toomey – the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III player of the year in 2012-13 – put on a dazzling shooting display as he was 9 for 12 from the field and 13 for 14 from the foul line. The smooth shooting 6-1 guard drained six of eight 3-point attempts.
Toomey scored 17 first-half points to stake the Lord Jeffs to a 41-25 lead at the break. Amherst jumped out to an early 7-0 lead but Westfield rallied to take a 9-7 lead five minutes into the game.
Westfield took a 14-13 lead at the 11:32 mark on a layup by junior captain Grant Cooper (Northampton), who led the Owls with 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists. But the tall and talented Lord Jeffs went on a 15-3 run over the next five minutes – capped by a Toomey trey – for a 28-17 advantage. Toomey flushed another 3-pointer to give Amherst its biggest lead of the first half, 41-23, at the 1:52 mark.
Toomey also gave Amherst its biggest lead of the second half, 60-32, by canning two free throws with 14:03 remaining.
Scoring in double figures for Amherst were Connor Green (12 points), Tom Killian (10) and David George (10). George and Green led the Lord Jeffs with nine and eight rebounds, respectively, and Killian dished out a game-high six assists.
Despite Toomey’s hot shooting from beyond the arc, Amherst only made 8 for 23 from 3-point range. But the Lord Jeffs shot a sizzling 24 for 28 from the foul line.
Westfield shot 39 percent from the field, including 2 for 11 from 3-point range, and 15 for 28 from the foul line. Also scoring in double figures was junior point guard Jordan Santiago with 11 points. Sophomore reserve forward Tchuijo Nkamebo, an Amherst High School graduate, scored nine points.
