CLINTON, N.Y. – Down seven with under a minute to play, the Bowdoin College men's basketball team closed the game on an 8-0 run in the final 31 seconds to stun Hamilton on Friday night, 69-68. The Polar Bears earn a huge NESCAC win and improve to 13-6 (3-2 NESCAC) while the Continentals fall to 5-14 (1-4 NESCAC).
 
Game Highlights

• An evenly-matched contest saw both teams struggle offensively the opening half, with Bowdoin clinging to a 29-28 lead thanks to a late free throw from Mason Dawkins.
• The Polar Bears opened up as much as a five-point lead early in the second half, but Hamilton rallied to deadlock the score and used a 10-4 surge to take a 61-55 lead with 4:22 remaining.
• The Continentals pushed the lead to seven points, 68-61, following a three-pointer with 1:32 to go, a lead they still held with under a minute to play.
• A Kevin Reeves dunk with 31 seconds left cut the lead to five points and a steal by Alex Halpern on the ensuing inbounds pass allowed Ray Cuevas to nail a fadeaway baseline three-pointer with 23 seconds left that cut the lead to 68-66.
• A steal by Mason Dawkins on the very next inbounds play again set Cuevas up for a three-pointer, during which he was fouled, sending him to the line. Cuevas coolly knocked down all three free throws to give Bowdoin an improbable 69-68 lead with 15 seconds to go.
• Hamilton advanced the ball, called timeout with seven ticks remaining, but could only get off a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer which was unsuccessful, giving Bowdoin the victory.

By The Numbers

• Cuevas finished with 29 points and seven rebounds to lead the Polar Bears while Kevin Reeves had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
• Mason Dawkins added 13 points, six rebounds, and three steals.
• The Polar Bears finished at 38% shooting for the game, as did Hamilton, with the Polar Bears cashing in 17 big second chance points thanks to a 50-41 rebounding edge.

Up Next

• Bowdoin will return to action Saturday at Amherst at 3:00 p.m.