WESTFIELD, Mass. - The Bowdoin College men's basketball team used an outstanding defensive effort in the second half to pull away from Westfield State, 67-61, on Saturday afternoon to win the 2017 Rick Martin/Holiday Inn Tournament.

The Polar Bears open the season 2-0 and deal the host Owls (2-1) their first loss of the campaign.

Game Highlights

• A tightly-played first half saw Westfield State own a slight 38-36 edge.
• The Owls extended their lead to as many as seven points in the second half, taking 49-42 lead with 13:56 to go.
• Bowdoin clamped  down defensively from there, holding Westfield to just 12 points over the final 13 minutes of play.
• With the game tied at 55 with under four minutes to play, Bowdoin took command,  getting a hoop-and-harm from David Reynolds to take a 58-55 lead and then scoring on a lay-up from Hugh O'Neil off a feed from Zavier Rucker to make it 60-55 with 3:21 to go.
• Bowdoin connected on seven free throws down the stretch to put the game on ice.

By The Numbers

• Jack Simonds led Bowdoin in scoring for the second straight day, totaling 16 points and nine rebounds.
• Hugh O'Neil finished with 11 points and 11 boards while David Reynolds scored 15 and had six caroms.
• Stephen Ferraro led a solid effort by the Bowdoin bench with ten points and four steals.
• Bowdoin connected on 40% of their shots from the game and held the Owls to just 22% (including 0-10 from three-point range) in the second period.
• The Polar Bears owned a 50-36 advantage overall in rebounding for the contest.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action with their home opener on Tuesday evening against the University of New England at 7:30 p.m. in Morrell Gymnasium.