FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Adam Piandes Scores His 1000th Career Point

LEWISTON, Maine -- Adam Piandes of Winchester, Mass., senior point guard for the Bates College men's basketball team, scored his 1000th career point for the Bobcats in a 93-89 win over the University of New England. Piandes had 18 points and 12 assists in the win.

Piandes scored his 1000th point with 11:43 left in the first half when he drilled a three-pointer. Piandes' 14 first-half points led the Bobcats to a 48-45 lead over the Knights. He had 4 points and 6 assists in the second half to help hold the Bates lead.

Piandes is off to a tremendous start, leading Bates to a 4-1 record. He was named to the All-Tournament team for his performance in the 1995 Pepsi Cardinal Classic. Piandes had 13 points and 12 assists in the Bobcats' win over SUNY-Potsdam and 14 points and 5 rebounds in a losing effort against Plattsburgh State in the final.

Since the loss to Plattsburgh, Bates has won its last three games, largely in part to Piandes' consistent play. He has averaged 20.7 points and 10.3 assists per game in the last three games.

Piandes entered the season with 918 career points. After averaging almost 8 points a game as a first-year student, he improved his scoring average to 14 points a game as a sophomore, and 17 points per game last year as a junior. Last season, Piandes was also named to the ECAC/Holiday Inn New England Honor Roll after scoring 63 points and dishing out 24 assists while leading Bates to three straight victories.

Piandes is the 18th player in Bates history to score 1000 points in a season. If he continues to score at his present pace, he could end up as high fifth on Bates' career scoring leader list.

Piandes, a 1992 graduate of Winchester High School, is the son of Charles and Olga Piandes (16 Wagon Wheel Road) Winchester.