Ben Burkett and No. 7 Wabash rallied but fell short against No. 1 Wooster. Wabash athletics photo

Three big showdowns highlighted Saturday's schedules, each featuring two unbeaten and Top 25-ranked teams. Archrivals Amherst and Williams had a showdown in both men's and women's basketball, while Wooster and Wabash did as well.

• Saturday's men's scores | Roundup
• Saturday's women's scores | Roundup
• Photo gallery: Amherst-Williams men
• Photo gallery: Amherst-Williams women

In Crawfordsville, Ind., seventh-ranked Wabash went on a 11-0 run in the final minutes but top-ranked Wooster got one of two free throws with four seconds left to help hold off the homestanding Little Giants 67-65.

Wes Smith, who led Wabash with 21 points, had an open look from 40 feet straight-on at the buzzer but it hit the back iron. Full story

Wooster (14-0) had led by as many as 14 points in the second half and was up 66-54 after a layup by Ian Franks with 2:14 left. But Wabash answered with a quick Smith basket, then Smith grabbed a missed Nathan Balch layup and followed his own miss with a putback to cut the lead to eight. Smith followed with a steal and made one of two free throws. The second led to a Wabash offensive rebound and Ben Burkett made two foul shots to cut the lead to 66-61. After Franks missed the front end of a one-and-one, Smith hit two free throws to cut the lead to three. Wooster threw the ball away at halfcourt and Aaron Zinnerman hit a layup with just under 10 seconds left to make it 66-65.

But from there, Wabash missed a layup inside, and after a discussion by the officials, the ball was awarded to Wooster with 4.9 seconds left. Matt Fegan was fouled and made one of the two shots. The teams meet again in the NCAC rematch at Wooster on Feb. 5.

Freshman Aaron Toomey got his initiation to the Amherst-Williams rivalry in a big way, scoring 21 points off the bench. Photo by Matt Milless, d3photography.com

No. 17 Amherst will enter conference play undefeated after the Lord Jeffs held off No. 2 Williams 92-89 at home in overtime. The game between the archrivals was tight throughout with neither leading by more than seven at any point and the Ephs nursing a two-point lead at half. James Wang hit a three-pointer to give Williams a 73-70 lead late in regulation.

After two free throws from Amherst’s Conor Meehan, Nate Robertson stepped to the line for Williams with 49 seconds left. He made the first but missed the second and Aaron Toomey scored a layup for Amherst to tie the score at 74. Wang and Toomey both missed three point shots to win the game and the teams headed to overtime. The Lord Jeffs hit six consecutive free throws in overtime to build an 87-81 lead and hung on to win their 12th game in as many tries.

Amherst outrebounded Williams 45-37 including 16 offensive boards as the Ephs struggled underneath without injured center Troy Whittington, who missed his fourth consecutive game. In his absence, Peter Kaasila scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Lord Jeffs and Toomey added 21 points and eight rebounds. Wang led the Ephs with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists.

This game does not count in the NESCAC standings.  The teams will meet again in NESCAC play at Williams on Feb. 12.

In the women's game, the top-ranked Lord Jeffs ran out to a 19-5 lead and cruised, leading by double digits the rest of the afternoon en route to an 85-63 win against No. 4 Williams. Jaclyn Daigneault led all socrers with 20 points for Amherst and added a game-high nine rebounds in the win, with Kim Fiorentino adding 15 and Sarah Leyman 12. Claire Baecher led the Ephs with 19 points.

More to come.