BOX
SCORE
BRUNSWICK, Maine – Mark Phillips put home a rebound with
two seconds remaining to give the Bowdoin men's basketball
team a dramatic 69-68 win over 18th-ranked Amherst on Friday
evening. The Polar Bears improve to 10-7 (2-2 NESCAC) with the win
while the Jeffs fall to 13-4 (3-1) with the defeat.
Amherst came out firing, opening up a 15-5 lead after a Taylor
Barrise three-pointer six minutes into the contest. Bowdoin bounced
back with a 20-8 run over the next eight minutes, taking the lead
for the first time on a beautiful half-court alley-oop pass from
Randy DeFeo to Will Hanley, who laid it in for a 30-28 Polar Bear
lead. The teams traded buckets for the remainder of the half with
the Jeffs grasping a 34-33 advantage at the break.
The teams swapped baskets for the early portion of the second
period before Barrise scored five straight points to cap a 9-0
spurt to give the Jeffs a 58-48 lead with seven minutes to play.
Bowdoin cut the lead to five points with five minutes left after a
Wyatt Littles free throw, but Barrise responded with a
three-pointer from the wing that gave the visitors an eight-point
lead, 63-55, with just four minutes on the clock.
Bowdoin used a 6-0 run to cut the lead to two points with 2:45
remaining and were able to trim the lead to a single point on three
occasions down the stretch, the last of which coming on a jumper
from Paul Sellew with 12 ticks left. Bowdoin fouled Barrise, who
missed his first of a 1-and-1 free throw attempt. The rebound
bounced out of play to give Bowdoin the ball, trailing 68-67.
Hanley drove the length of the court and lofted an off-balance
shot off glass and rim. Phillips, waiting on the weak side of the
boards, grabbed the carom and laid it back into the cylinder for
the go-ahead points with two seconds remaining. Amherst's
Connor Meehan's desperation three-pointer from 35 feet sailed
wide as Bowdoin secured the victory.
Phillips finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds to lead
Bowdoin. Sellew had 15 and 10 rebounds while Mike Hauser notched 11
points and 10 assists for the hosts. Hanley netted 14 for the Polar
Bears, who held a 40-30 edge on the glass.
Barrise led all scorers with 23 points for Amherst. Meehan
finished with 14 while Jeff Holmes notched a dozen for the
visitors.
