BRUNSWICK, Maine – The Bates College men's basketball team built a 17-point second half lead and held off a late surge to defeat Bowdoin, 83-77, on Sunday afternoon in Morrell Gymnasium. The Bobcats (7-8, 1-5 NESCAC) pick up their first conference win of the season while the Polar Bears fall to 10-10 (1-6 NESCAC).
 
Game Highlights

• The Bobcats connected on eight three-pointers in the opening half to build a 42-30 lead at intermission.
• The Polar Bears committed eight first-half turnovers and only hit a pair of three-pointers as they trailed at the break.
• Bowdoin was able to claw back into the contest with a 10-2 run early in the second half, trimming the lead to 50-45 following a pair of Jack Shea free throws with 12:15 to play.
• The Polar Bears went cold for the next five minutes, however, and the Bobcats rolled off an 11-0 run to push the lead back into double figures.
• Bates led by as many as 17 with 6:30 to play but Bowdoin wouldn't go away, using a 13-2 run to close within six points (66-60) on a Manav Randhawa three-pointer with 3:02 remaining.
• The Polar Bears couldn't complete the comeback as Bates connected on 21-29 free throws in the second half to seal the win.

By The Numbers

• James McGowan led Bowdoin with 17 points while Manav Randhawa had 14.
• Xander Werkman and Jack Shea had 12 points each while Taiga Kagitomi led the Polar Bears with 10 rebounds.
• Bowdoin finished at 41% shooting for the game while Bates shot 38%. The Bobcats hit 10 three pointers to Bowdoin's seven and cashed in for 20 points off 19 Polar Bear turnovers.
• Bates was paced by 25 points from Stephon Baxter.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action next Friday evening at Amherst (7:00 p.m.)