Bates 73, Bowdoin 64
at Brunwick, Maine

PADONOU NETS 1,000TH AS BATES TOPS BOWDOIN, 73-64

BRUNSWICK, Maine - Bates College junior Ed Walker (Roxbury, Mass.) recorded his third double-double of the season with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Bobcat men's basketball team to a 73-64 victory over Bowdoin on Wednesday afternoon. In the victory, Bates (5-3) senior Rommel Padonou (Libreville, Gabon) scored six points to become the 21st player in Bates history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his career, helping the Bobcats defeat Bowdoin (4-2) for the first time in head coach Joe Reilly's tenure.

Bates jumped out to an early lead, owning a 5-0 edge with less than minute gone in the game. Bowdoin raced back to take a 9-7 lead on a Mark Gilbride (Topsham, Maine) three-pointer with 16:04 left in the first half. The Polar Bears managed to build a four-point lead at 16-12, but the Bobcats roared back behind the play of Walker, who scored 12 of his 20 points in the first frame. The two teams exchanged five lead changes and four ties down the stretch before junior Chris Ranslow (Hallowell, Maine) converted a lay-up with 1:21 remaining to give Bowdoin a 34-32 edge at the end of the first half.

Bowdoin took its biggest lead of the evening at the 14:57 mark of the second half when Braden Clement (Skowhegan, Maine) drilled one of his five three-pointers on the evening for a 43-38 lead. Behind a pair of baseline jumpers from junior Alex Wilson (Duxbury, Mass.), Bates managed to rally and tie the game at 44-44, but again the Polar Bears held a 49-46 edge after a Danny Ginn (Windham, Maine) jumper with a 11:20 left.

The Bobcats took their first lead of the second half when Billy Hart (Haverhill, Mass.) fed Padonou for a lay-up and a 50-49 lead and Bates would never trail the rest of the way. Tied at 56-56 with 6:10 left, Bates went on a 7-0 run on the strength of three pointers from Walker and rookie Ramon Garcia (Haverhill, Mass.) for a 63-56 lead. The Polar Bears got no closer than three the rest of the way.

Joining Walker in double figures for Bates were Hart with 15 and sophomore guard Matt LaPointe (Beverly, Mass.) with 10, while Padonou led all rebounders with 12. Bowdoin was paced by Clement, who had 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting from three-point land and 10 rebounds. Ranslow added 13 points and eight boards and David Baranowski (Amherst, N.H.) had 10 points and eight assists.

The Bobcats open their home season Saturday afternoon against Maine-Farmington at 3 p.m.