New Gym Floor, New Era, Mechanics Open Season with a Win

On a day when Williamson unveiled its new gym floor, a new-look Williamson basketball team took the floor.  Both were impressive, as for the first time in eight years, the Mechanics opened their season with a win, as they took down SUNY-ESF 72-58 on Saturday afternoon.

The new gym floor replaced the old one that had been in use for 35 years.  Williamson took to it immediately, as they took the early lead and never looked back.  While their lead was just four 10 minutes into the game, they were able to put together several nice runs to eventually lead by 11 at the break, 37-26.

As was expected, the Mighty Oaks came out fired up for the second half and came at the Mechanics in waves.  The eventually pulled to within one point at 49-48 at the 12:49 mark.  That however, would be as close as they would get.  Whereas Williamson squads the past few seasons had trouble finishing out games, this year's team did not falter.  Despite the run by SUNY ESF, Williamson stood strong and did not get flustered.  They countered with a run of their own to go back up by seven at 59-51 with 6:48 left.

From there, Williamson's defense took over, and their offense connected when they needed it, to give them the 72-58 win.

Several things stood out for Williamson in the win.  The first was their team defense.  SUNY ESF scored 91 points in their season opener, whereas Williamson held them to 33 fewer points in today's game.  They also held them 31.5% shooting from the floor, while forcing a whopping 25 turnovers.  On the flip side, Williamson turned the ball over just 11 times for the game. 

The second thing that proved to be big in the win was the balanced scoring for the team.  Williamson placed four in double figures, and a fifth had eight points.  Freshman Tahjer Pearson led the way with 19 points.  He also added six assists and pulled down five rebounds.  Fellow freshman A'Jaad White had 13 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Semaj Chery also added a double-double, hitting for 12 points and 11 rebounds. Senior Robert Wiley had 11 points and three assists, while junior Ronald Johnson chipped in with eight points and six assists.  Williamson shot 44% from the floor for the game.

"While we still a lot of things to work on, it was a great way to start the season," shared Williamson head coach Bill Michaels. "We did some nice things and we really played together as a team.  To see how we did not fold when they made a run is a good sign. They are a good team and are well coached, so this win is a nice first step"

Williamson (1-0) next hosts another very tough opponent in Penn State Lehigh Valley in a 7:00 P.M. start this Wednesday, November 5, before taking on two-time defending national champion Penn State Wilkes Barre next Saturday on the road in a 3:00 P.M. start.