Bates 68, Bowdoin 63
at Lewiston, Maine

BATES MEN RALLY PAST BOWDOIN, 68-63

LEWISTON, Maine Ñ The Bates College men's basketball team held their opponents without a field goal over the final 6:26 tonight, ending the game on a 16-5 run to take a 68-63 victory over the Bowdoin College Polar Bears in the 2001-02 Colby-Bates-Bowdoin (CBB) series opener.

Bates (5-3, 1-0 CBB) trailed by five, 58-53, when Bowdoin senior Hugh Coleman (Dorchester, Mass.) hit a 3-pointer with 6:26 left on the clock. That was Bowdoin's final field goal as the Bobcats made their move. Bates tied the game at 58-58 by hitting five-of-six free throws before taking their first lead of the contest on a bucket by senior Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.) with 4:24 remaining. Junior transfer Angelo Salvaggio (Portland, Maine) upped the lead to four on an assist by sophomore Ramon Garcia (Haverhill, Mass.).

Bowdoin senior Greg Orlicz (Liverpool, N.Y.) hit one-of-two free throws to cut the lead to 62-59 with 1:51 to play before Bates senior Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) stuck a dagger in the Polar Bears' heart with a 3-pointer with 44 seconds left on the clock to put Bates up 65-59. The teams traded free throws over the final 43 seconds, making the final 68-63.

Bowdoin (5-2, 0-1 CBB) led by as many as eight points in the first half, thanks to 15 points by Orlicz. Walker and Wilson each scored in the final 1:31 of the first half to cut Bowdoin's lead to 35-31 at the break.

Walker, one of four Bates players in double figures, led the Bobcats with 24 points. Wilson added 13 points, and the two seniors each had team-high honors with seven rebounds. Salvaggio had 12 points and rookie Hector Mancebo (Lawrence, Mass.) added 11.

Bowdoin's Orlicz led all scorers with 25 points on nine-of-17 shooting, while junior Braden Clement (Skowhegan, Maine) had 12 points. Polar Bear forward Chris Ranslow (Hallowell, Maine) had a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.