LEWISTON, Maine – The Bowdoin College men's basketball team couldn't overcome hot shooting by Bates in an 80-74 defeat on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
 
The Polar Bears finish their first semester of play with a record of 7-3 while the Bobcats move to 4-3 on the season.
 
Game Highlights

• The first half saw both teams come out firing, with Bates connecting on 55% of their field goals and Bowdoin hitting 60% of their-three-pointers in a back-and-forth period.
• Bates opened up as much as a six point lead, 35-29, late in the frame, but Bowdoin replied with three-pointers from Manav Randhawa and Taiga Kagitomi that closed the gap to 38-35 at the break.
• The Bobcats led throughout the second half, but Bowdoin refused to go away.
• Bates pushed the lead to double-figures with 8:10 to go, but a late 10-4 Polar Bear run, keyed by three-pointers by Randhawa and Michael Simonds, closed the Bates gap to four points with under a minute to play.
• The Bobcats sealed the win at the stripe, hitting four late free throws to close it out.

By The Numbers

• Bates finished at 57% shooting for the game, including nearly 60% in the second half, and was led by 28 points from Stephon Baxter.
• Bowdoin shot 44% in the contest, including 12-26 (46%) from three-point range.
• Michael Simonds had 22 points and five rebounds while Manav Randhawa had 17, including five three-pointers.
• Bates held a key 37-27 edge in rebounding for the game.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears are off until December 30-31 when they play at the Eastern Connecticut Holiday Invitational. Bowdoin opens against Bridgewater State on Thursday, December 30 at 5:00 p.m.