It’s “Toomey Time” again at Amherst: Aaron Toomey(Bishop McGuinness HS) lights up the Northeastern sky

Amherst Hits Triple Digits Again in 110-57 Win Over Westfield State

Amherst rookie Aaron Toomey(Bishop McGuinness High School/Kernersville, N.C.) scored a game-high 23 points in the win.

AMHERST, MA – The 23rd-ranked Amherst College men’s basketball team improved to
5-0 on the year, and 18-1 all-time in the Pioneer Valley Classic with a 110-57
thumping of Westfield State University at home this evening. Today’s game opened a
doubleheader on day one of the 2010 P.V.C., with Elms and Springfield set to clash
in the nightcap.

Amherst opened up a 9-2 lead with just 2:31 into the game on a triple by Willy
Workman (Northampton, MA) from the right corner. Three minutes later, sophomore
Peter Kaasila (Plaistow, NH) added a three-point play inside to stretch Amherst’s
lead to 18-4.

Rookie point guard Aaron Toomey (Greensboro, NC) came off the bench and assisted on back-to-back scores for Amherst, blowing the lead open to 23-4 and forcing a timeout from Westfield with 12:32 remaining.

For a two minute span late in the first half, Toomey took the game over. The
Amherst rookie scored on a jumper, a layup and then nailed a three. The flurry
stretched Amherst’s lead to 49-16 with 5:16 remaining, and gave Toomey 14 points
on 6-for-6 shooting to start the game.

Westfield State scored 18 points in the first 15:42 of the first half, but turned
up their offense down the stretch. The Owls scored nine of their 27 points in the
half in the final 4:12, heading into the break trailing 58-27. At the half, Toomey
led all scorers with 14 points, while Jeff Holmes (Saunderstown, RI) added 10
points, and Workman, Kaasila and Conor Meehan (Meriden, CT) scored at least seven
points each in the half. Eugene Turner and Marcellus Lee led the Owls with six and
five points, respectively.

In the first nine minutes of the second half, Amherst added another nine points to
its advantage, taking an 81-41 lead on a Toomey triple with 11:16 to play. The
game was never in doubt in the second half, with the Lord Jeffs refusing to let
the Owls back into the battle.

For the second straight game Amherst hit triple digits in scoring, with today’s
110-point performance coming on the heels of a 108-68 win over Lasell College on
Tuesday. Toomey finished the night with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-12
shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc. Meehan added 17 points
in the win, while Holmes and Workman scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Turner and Ryan White each finished the game with 12 points to lead the Owls,
while Lee chipped in with nine points and five boards.

Westfield State will play Springfield tomorrow at 1 p.m. to open up day two of the
tournament, while Amherst will face Elms at 3 p.m. in the final game of the
weekend.