BRUNSWICK, Maine – Will Hanley scored a career-high 29 points as the Bowdoin College men's basketball team held off a late rally to take a 75-68 victory over Colby at Morrell Gymnasium on Saturday afternoon. The Polar Bears close out their first semester with a record of 6-2 while the Mules dip to 4-5 overall.
Hanley stuffed the stat sheet with 29 points on 12-18 shooting to go with eight rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Maximilian Staiger scored 14 key points off the bench 
for Bowdoin while Randy DeFeo connected on all five of his attempts from the field (including 2-2 from three-point range) to post 16 points to go with six assists. Ryan O'Connell pitched in 11 as well for Bowdoin. Colby was led by Christian Van Loenen, who ended with 27 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Donovan netted 16 points while Mike Russell had 10 points and nine rebounds for the Mules.
Colby sprinted out to a 13-2 lead in the first three minutes, keyed by consecutive three-pointers from Ben Foreman and Christian Van Loenen. Bowdoin answered with a 14-0 run to take the lead, sparked by a Randy DeFeo three-pointer and capped by a pair of spinning lay-ups by Justin Nowell. The Polar Bears would not relinquish the lead for the remainder of the period, as they forced 10 Colby turnovers and carried a 32-29 edge into the break.
Bowdoin pushed their lead to double digits early in the second period, as a nifty revere lay-in by Hanley off an alley-oop feed from Staiger sparked a 12-1 Polar Bear run. Colby made a late charge, led by 21 second-half points from Van Loenen, and drew within two points, 65-63, with 2:22 to go. But Staiger answered with a bucket for the Polar Bears to stem the tide and the hosts connected on four free throws in the final minute to seal the victory.
Colby dominated the rebounding battle, 41-28, but the Polar Bears shot 54.9% from the field compared to Colby's 35.9%. The Mules were only 6-22 from three-point range as both squads shot an identical 16-22 (72.7%) from the charity stripe.
The teams will play their conference match in Waterville on January 15.
Photos courtesy of Brian Beard and Creative Images Photography.
