Bates 73, Thomas 71
at Waterville, Maine

WATERVILLE, Maine - First-year guard Billy Hart (Haverhill, Mass.) hit his fifth 3-point field goal of the game with 20 seconds left on the clock to lift the Bates College Bobcats (7-2) past the Thomas College Terriers, 73-71.

The first half featured a series of runs. Trailing by six, 22-16, midway through the first stanza, Thomas went on a 12-0 run over the next five minutes to claim a 28-22 lead. The Bobcats answered in the closing portion before halftime with a 16-5 run of their own to take a 38-33 advantage into the locker room. First-year guard Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) led all scorers at the break with 11 points on five-of-six shooting, including one 3-pointer.

The teams battled back and forth again in the second half. With the score tied at 65 with 3:30 left in the game, the teams traded baskets to make the score 69-69. The Bobcats had a chance to claim their first lead since the 10-minute mark with 1:20 on the clock, but senior Garth Timoll (Owings Mills, Md.) was whistled for a charge, his fifth foul of the game. With 58 seconds left on the Terriers ensuing possession, Hart made a big steal which led to sophomore forward Rommel Padonou (Libreville, Gabon) reaching the free-throw line, where he hit one of two foul shots to put the Bobcats up 70-69. The Terriers hit a pair from the charity stripe when first-year center Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.) was whistled for a foul with 31 seconds remaining. Hart took the inbound pass the length of the floor and found himself open at the top of the key, where he launched the game-winner with 20 ticks on the clock. Thomas called time-out with 15 seconds to set up a play. The Terriers, who were coming off an eight-point win over Bowdoin the night before, missed a pair of field goal attempts, but were able to grab the rebound and get to the free throw line with a chance to send the game into overtime with one second on the clock. They missed both and the Bobcats hung on for the win.

Padonou and Hart each had 17 points to lead the Bobcats, while Padonou had his sixth double-double in nine games with 14 rebounds. Walker had 15 points on seven-of-10 shooting, while Wilson had 15 points and 11 boards for his fourth double-double of the season.