BOX
SCORE
MEDFORD – The Bowdoin College men's basketball team had
five players in double-figures and used a second half surge en
route to an 89-81 NESCAC victory at Tufts on Saturday afternoon.
Bowdoin snapped its mini losing streak at two games as they
improved to 1-2 in league play and 11-5 overall for the season.
Senior forward Kyle Jackson led the way for the Polar Bears
tallying 17 points; shooting 6-of-11 from the field while adding
six rebounds. Tufts lost its fourth consecutive league game and its
fifth overall as they remain winless in the NESCAC at 0-4 to go
along with their 7-10 overall mark. Junior forward Jon Pierce
carried the load for the Jumbos scoring 36 points on 13-of-25
shooting including four made three-pointers.
The game was all knotted up at the half with the score 44-44,
after the Jumbos had initially raced out to an early 26-18
advantage. After the half, Tufts built a 4-point advantage at
54-50, but the Polar Bears used back-to-back three-pointers by
freshman guard Ryan O'Connell to take a 56-54 lead, a lead they
would never relinquish. O'Connell finished with 14 points on the
afternoon, going a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Junior
center Mark Phillips (15), junior guard Mike Hauser (11) and
freshman forward Will Hanley (11) were the other three Polar Bears
to register double-figures.
Bowdoin's lead grew to nine points at 77-68 with 4:41 remaining
before Tufts made a mini comeback to close to within three points
at 82-79 with 1:48 left on freshman guard Amauris Quezada's 3-point
play. The Polar Bears used stellar free throw shooting to put the
Jumbos away, as they shot 7-of-8 from the line in the final
minutes. Quezada had a strong performance for Tufts, scoring five
points and dishing a game-high eight assists.
The game looked promising for Tufts at the onset as junior forward
Dave Beyel nailed his first three 3-point attempts in the first
five minutes of the contest. Beyel was held in check the rest of
the way, only adding another 3-pointer to finish with 12 points.
Both teams shot well from the field, as Bowdoin finished at 48.1
percent (26/54) while Tufts concluded the game at 46.2 percent
(30/65). Free throw shooting was largely in favor of the Polar
Bears, making 29-of-39 attempts. The Jumbos had just 19 attempts,
netting 12 of them.
Bowdoin returns to action Friday night when they host Amherst
College at 7 pm
