ANNVILLE, Pa. – Despite a cold front making its way through the area, the Ursinus College men's basketball team was heating up on Saturday afternoon.
The Bears showed off their offensive ability early and often as they jumped out to an early lead that they never relinquished, topping New Rochelle 111-85 in record-breaking fashion at the Rinso Marquette Tournament hosted by Lebanon Valley.
Eric Williams Jr. led the charge for Ursinus (1-1), putting on a clinic from beyond the arc and dropping 12 3-pointers to break the Centennial Conference record. The Bears made 20 as a team, eclipsing their own conference mark of 18 set against Rhode Island College in 2004. Williams finished with a career-high 37 points on 12-for-20 shooting from the field, also adding six rebounds, a block, an assist, and a steal; the point total was the highest by an Ursinus player since Matt Hilton dropped 40 in a 2010 game against Haverford.
Williams' dozen triples eclipsed the previous CC mark of 10 by Ursinus legend Dennis Stanton, who accomplished the feat twice during the 2003-04 campaign. Williams made five of his first eight from deep on the way to wrapping up the first half with 21 points, all on 3-pointers. He made four 3-point baskets in a row as the Bears extended their early lead from 13-7 to a 24-7 clip.
His impressive performance continued after halftime, as he immediately got back to hitting deep shots over the New Rochelle (0-2) defense, stretching the lead even more. He'd break his career high mark of 30 points on a 3-pointer with 14:59 left in the game. Ursinus led by as many as 36 points at the 14:18 mark of the second half, and the margin never dipped below 26 the rest of the way.
Sophomore Ryan McTamney joined in on the 3-point party, nailing four of his seven attempts while shooting 6-of-11 from the field for the afternoon. McTamney scored 17 points and was two rebounds shy of a double-double with eight.
Senior Zach Quattro – who made three 3-pointers – and Lucas Olshevski – who made his only attempt from beyond the arc – combined with Williams and McTamney for continued long-range dominance.
Quattro shot 3-of-5 from 3-point distance and finished 6-of-12 from the field for 16 points. He added seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks to his line.
Sophomore Shane Stark was solid from the field, making 8-of-10 shots for 16 points. Stark chipped in six rebounds and four assists as he manufactured a handful of good looks for himself throughout the game.
Brian Rafferty ran the offense well, assisting on eight baskets while chipping in four rebounds, a steal, a block and one point. Junior Zack Muredda handed out seven assists without a turnover, combining with Rafferty for 15 dimes to just one miscue.
Thirteen different Bears registered points on the game, including senior Joseph LoStracco (4) and freshmen Olshevski (3) and Matt Paulus (2), who notched their first career points. Senior Remi Janicot and freshman George Gordon each scored five points off the bench.
The 111-point total for Ursinus is the most in a single game since 2004, when the Bears posted 124.
Ursinus opens up its home slate on November 21 as the Bears take on CC-foe Haverford at 7 p.m.