AMHERST, Mass. – Josh Chery converted a layup with three seconds to play to give the top-seeded Amherst College men's basketball team a comeback 71-70 win over Bowdoin in the NESCAC Quarterfinals Saturday afternoon.

In a game that featured 16 lead changes, the last helped Amherst improve to 17-8 and reach the NESCAC semifinals for the seventh time in eight years. The Mammoths will meet Wesleyan in the semifinals next weekend. The Polar Bears finish their year with a record of 15-9.

Game Highlights

• Jack Simonds had the hot hand in the opening period, scoring 21 of Bowdoin's 36 first-half points. He shot an impressive 8-10 from the floor and 5-6 from downtown in the first 20 minutes of action.
• The Mammoths went down by as many as 10 in the first half, but would climb back multiple times to keep it within reach.
• Johnny McCarthy capped the half with a jumper for the hosts, giving them a 37-36 lead at the break.
• The second half began with a 10-0 run by Bowdoin, erasing Amherst's 37-36 halftime lead and putting the Polar Bears ahead 46-37.
• Amherst would continue to cut the lead to as little as two, but would eventually fall back by double digits, 56-45, with ten minutes left in the half.
• Amherst would go on another run to cut Bowdoin's lead to three, capped off by a McCarthy breakaway dunk to make the score 56-53. McCarthy countered another Bowdoin basket with a wide open three to keep the deficit at two, and Michael Riopel would tie the game again at 58 on a driving layup with 4:30 left to play in the game.
• On a broken play, McCarthy sunk a deep three-pointer to put the Mammoths up by a point, and they increased their lead to 69-65 before Liam Farley's corner three brought Bowdoin to within one.
• A pair of free throws by Zavier Rucker on the next possession the Polar Bears 70-69 lead, before Chery was able to bully his way through the lane to lay the ball in and score the game-winner.

By The Numbers

• Jack Simonds was outstanding for Bowdoin, finishing with a game-high 25 points with seven rebounds, including five three-pointers.
• Three other Polar Bears saw double digits, led by 11 apiece from Zavier Rucker and Liam Farley. Hugh O'Neil ended with ten points.
• Johnny McCarthy led the way for Amherst with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists.