Bowdoin 86, Bates 76
at Lewiston, Maine

BOWDOIN MEN DOWN BATES, 86-76, IN NESCAC SHOWDOWN

LEWISTON, Maine — The visiting Bowdoin College Polar Bears went on a 15-4 run midway through the second half to break open a tight game and defeat the host Bates College Bobcats, 86-76, in New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) and Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) men's basketball action tonight.

Bowdoin (13-5, 3-2 NESCAC, 2-1 CBB) opened the game shooting lights out, hitting 10 of their first 13 shots to establish a 25-13 lead less than eight minutes into the game, including eight points by junior guard Greg Orlicz (Liverpool, N.Y.). Bates (12-7, 0-4 NESCAC, 2-1 CBB) answered by scoring the next 15 points, taking their first lead of the contest at 28-25 with 7:58 left in the half on back-to-back 3-pointers by junior guard Billy Hart (Haverhill, Mass.). The final eight minutes of the stanza featured five ties and four lead changes, but the score was knotted at 35-35 at the break after Bobcat sophomore guard Matt LaPointe (Beverly, Mass.) hit a lay-up with four seconds left in the stanza.

The second half opened in the same fashion before Bowdoin senior center David Baranowski (Amherst, N.H.) scored five points in 7-0 run to put the Polar Bears up, 49-42, at the 15:07 mark, but the Bobcats again answered. Hart tossed in two more trifectas, and another long ball and a lay-up by rookie guard Ramon Garcia (Haverhill, Mass.) put the Bobcats ahead, 55-54 with 12:01 left on the clock.

Bowdoin then went on the decisive run, as five straight points from sophomore center Eric Buschmann (Sidney, Maine) gave Bowdoin a 59-55 cushion a minute later. A traditional three-point play by Orlicz put Bowdoin up seven, 62-55, with nine minutes remaining, and Bates never got closer than five the rest of the way.

For Bates, Hart led all scorers with a career-high 31 points, shooting nine-of-16 from 3-point range, one shy of the Bobcats' single-game record. Garcia added 19 points off the bench. Junior Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) matched game high honors with 12 rebounds.

Bowdoin had four different players score in double figures, led by 21 from Orlicz, including four of five from 3-point range. Baranowski finished three assists shy of a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven helpers. Sophomore guard Braden Clement (Skowhegan, Maine) and junior Chris Ranslow (Halowell, Maine) each contributed 14 points.