BRUNSWICK, Maine - Will Hanley scored 23 points with 17 rebounds as the Bowdoin College men's basketball team staved off Babson on Tuesday evening, 73-68.

The Polar Bears improve to 12-5 with the win while the Beavers drop to 10-9.

In addition to his 13th double-double of the season, Hanley also had six assists and four blocks in the victory. Ryan O'Connell added 14 points for the hosts, who prevailed despite a game-high 34 points, including eight three-pointers, from Babson's Matt Palazini. Russell Braithwaite also reached double figures for the Beavers, scoring 14 points with seven rebounds.

Bowdoin came out firing, taking a 14-0 lead and extending it to 19-2 after Ryan O'Connell's second three pointer with just 6:30 into the game. Babson bounced back behind five three-pointers from Palazini that sparked a 21-5 run late in the half to take an improbable 35-33 lead at halftime.

The teams traded the lead three times, with four tie scores, in the second half with Babson taking its final lead on a Braithwaite dunk with 7:36 to go, 56-55. Hanley regained the lead for Bowdoin with a fadeaway jumper and Keegan Pieri used a hoop-and-harm to push Bowdoin's lead to four points, 60-56, with 6:08 on the clock.

Five times Babson was able to trim the lead to a single possession over the final five minutes, only to see Bowdoin immediately respond with a bucket. The Polar Bears hit 4-5 free throws in the final 24 seconds to seal the win.

Babson was able to stay close thanks to Palazini's performance and 19 points off of 18 Polar Bear turnovers. Bowdoin connected on 50% of its shots for the game (28-56) and held a 40-31 edge on the glass.