Amherst 90, Bates 78
at Lewiston, Maine

BATES FALLS TO AMHERST, 90-78

LEWISTON, Maine - The Amherst College Lord Jeffs used an 18-5 rebound margin on the offensive glass and 40-25 advantage overall to defeat the host Bates College Bobcats, 90-78, today in Alumni Gymnasium.

Bates (6-9, 1-2 NESCAC) led by as many as seven early in the first half, opening the game on an 11-4 run over the first 5:24 as Amherst hit just one of their first 10 shots from the floor. Amherst (10-4, 2-1 NESCAC) picked up the pace after a 30-second time out at that point, going on a 32-10 run and eventually taking a 13-point lead, 40-27, with 4:37 remaining in the first half. The Bobcats closed out the stanza on a 14-2 run, hitting three straight 3-pointers, with two of those coming from sophomore Matt Moulis (Concord, N.H.), including one with five seconds remaining to close the lead to 42-41 at the break. The Bobcats shot 65 percent from the field in the first half (15-for-23), led by seven-of-eight for a half-high 15 points from junior forward Rommel Padonou (Libreville, Gabon).

Amherst tried to pull away early in the second half, going up by eight twice only to see Bates pull to within three. Leading 58-55 just over six minutes into the half, the Lord Jeffs scored the next 11 points of the game with five points coming from senior Brian Daoust (Dover, Mass.) and four from first-year forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, Mass.), who also contributed four rebounds and a steal in the decisive run. Bates clawed to within nine points on a couple off occasions after that, but could not get any closer.

Amherst's Daoust led all scorers with 27 points on eight-of-16 shooting from the floor and a perfect eight-of-eight from the line. Padonou had a team-high with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Bobcats after being held scoreless last night, while sophomore Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.) had 22. Senior forward Chris Smith (Swarthmore, Pa.) grabbed a game high 10 rebounds for the Lord Jeffs, while senior center Jackson Collins (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had five on the offensive glass. Padonou had eight and Wilson seven boards for Bates.

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