Amherst 91, Bates 81
at Lewiston, Maine

WILSON JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB, BUT BOBCATS FALL TO AMHERST, 91-81

LEWISTON, Maine Ð Bates College junior forward Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.) scored his 1,000th career point with 4:52 left in the first half, but the visiting Amherst College Lord Jeffs survived a furious rally by the Bobcats to claim a 91-81 New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) victory in Alumni Gymnasium tonight.

Wilson reached the milestone from the free throw line. He became the 22nd Bobcat to score 1,000 and the fourth junior. He joins senior Rommel Padonou (Libreville, Gabon) in reaching the millennium mark this season.

Amherst (11-2, 2-1 NESCAC) used hot shooting in the first half, hitting 18 of 27 shots (67 percent) to jump out to a 10-point lead, 48-38, at the break. Wilson led all scorers with 18 points in the first stanza, while Amherst senior guard Brian Daoust (Dover, Mass.) and sophomore forward Steve Zieja (Hadley, Mass.) each had 11 points.

Bates (11-5, 0-2 NESCAC) trailed by as many as 15 points with 8:07 remaining in the contest and were down 11, at 80-69, with 4:23 left on the clock. The Bobcats scored the next seven points, climbing to within 80-76 on a pair of free throws by rookie guard Ramon Garcia (Haverhill, Mass.), but Zieja answered with two of his own from the line. Bates junior Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) put back an offensive rebound with 2:04 left, cutting the lead back to four, but Lord Jeff sophomore center Pat Fitzsimmons (Durham., N.C.) did the same on the other end. The Lord Jeffs hit seven-of-nine foul shots down the stretch to clinch the win.

For Bates, Wilson led all players with 28 points, matching his career high, while Walker recorded a double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Daoust led four Amherst players in double figures with 25 points, including five-of-10 from 3-point range, while distributing five assists. Fitzsimmons added 21 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Zieja had 19 points, while sophomore Ryan Faulkner (Lebanon, N.H.) had 14 points.