[Men's Basketball] Basketball Coach Bill Michaels Honored for 300th Career Williamson Win

On a night that saw the Williamson basketball team fall to #2 ranked Penn State Wilkes Barre in a classic Bill Michaels era game, a very special ceremony was held prior to the start of the game to indeed honor  Williamson head basketball coach Bill Michaels for earning his 300th career win at Williamson.  That win occurred on January 14th in a 55-51 win over Albany College of Pharmacy. 

"What coach Michaels as accomplished in his time at Williamson is beyond amazing.  We had gone through seven head coaches in 15 years prior to his arrival.  For him to come in and win as many games as he has in 20 seasons, including two national championships and eight national tournament appearances, is almost beyond comprehension," shared long-time Williamson Director of Athletics Dale Plummer.

According to Plummer, the 300 wins more than doubles the amount of any other coach in Williamson history. 

"To put things in perspective, second place for wins at Williamson is former legendary baseball coach Sal Intelisano with 120.

While the wins are special, it is what Michaels preaches to his student-athletes, both on and off the court, that makes what he has done even more special.

"While it is safe to say that 300 wins might be something that will never be accomplished again at Williamson, even more importantly is the manner in which Bill has coached his teams over the years.  Whether his teams have been towards the upper echelon or not as good, he has coached each team as though they were special, and coached them the same way, no matter what their ability level was.

"Even more special though is not only the way he coaches his players, but also how he prepares them for life.  Our student-athletes have a nationwide reputation of playing the game the right way, but also being great representatives of our college off the court, as well.  For that, we simply cannot than Bill enough. He truly is one of the finest coaches in the nation and we are blessed to have him in charge of our program," closed Plummer.

As far as the game went, Williamson went toe-to-toe with one of the top ranked teams in the nation, but in the end were upended by the No. 2 Penn State Wilkes-Barre Nittany Lions 63-59 on Tuesday night.

BY THE NUMBERS

Robert Whiley (FR/Newark, DE) led Williamson with 19 points, going 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

Jack Grace (SR/Ridley, PA) dropped 17, connecting on four three-pointers.

Garrett Watkins (JR/Mechanicsville, MD) scored nine and dished a team-high six assists.

Corby Bennett (JR/Harrisburg, PA) added eight points and pulled in seven rebounds.

Seven of the eight players who appeared for Williamson scored.

WT committed just seven turnovers in the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The game could not have gotten off to a better start for the Mechanics who built a 19-8 lead just more than seven minutes into the game on a driving layup by Garrett Watkins. Keying the run was a blistering 7-for-10 effort from the floor that included a pair of threes by Grace and seven points from Whiley.

The shooting cooled, but the defense stayed in place as Williamson held the Nittany Lions to five for its first 21 from the floor and forced six turnovers by the midway point of the opening half. The momentum looked like it was about to swing when a turn-around, shot clock beating three ignited an 8-2 run for the visitors to cut the edge to six, but a jump hook in the paint by Semaj Cherry (FR/Upper Darby, PA) capped the scoring in the frame and gave the Mechanics a 32-24 lead into the break.

Penn State lived up to its national ranking early on in the second stanza, erasing the halftime lead in under three minutes and took its first lead since the early stages on an and-one with 16:37 remaining.

After withstanding the opening salvo from PSU, Williamson jumped back into the game with a 7-1, taking a 44-43 lead on a layup by Grace at the 13:02 mark.

From that point, neither team held more than a four point lead for the remainder of the game. Trailing 61-59, the Mechanics got a couple of looks to take the lead in the waning seconds, but none fell as Penn State escaped with the win.

UP NEXT

Williamson heads on the road for an Eastern States Athletic Conference matchup against the Manor College Blue Jays. Tipoff from Jenkintown, Pa. is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.