Courtsey of Brian Beard

Last weekend, the men’s basketball team (11–10; 1–6 NESCAC) picked up a big 79–64 win on the road versus Middlebury College (11–10; 2–5 NESCAC). Shooting 50 percent from the floor and 46 percent from beyond the three-point line, the Polar Bears held the lead for the entire game.

Ben Chilson ’27 described how the preparation the team did for Middlebury beforehand benefited the Polar Bears during the game.

“After scouting them, we knew they liked to double-team the ball handler on pick-and-rolls, which meant someone could be wide open,” Chilson wrote. “All week, we practiced handling the pressure and moving the ball around to find the open man, which worked out well.”

The team executed on both ends of the court, sinking jump shots on offense and playing a stifling brand of defense on the other end. At 12 minutes into the first half, the lead ballooned to 25–11,  after a Chilson three-point bucket. After some back-and-forth, the Polar Bears went into the break up 41–34.

The team, regardless of its opponent, sets a standard goal heading into each matchup according to Nolan Bessire ’26.

“We go into every game with a goal of shooting at least 30 three-pointers,” Bessire said. “It just happened that with Middlebury and how their scheme worked, we were able to get up a bunch of good looks.”

The Panthers responded at the start of the second half, cutting the Bowdoin lead to two points a few minutes in. Halfway through the half, Chilson hit another big three-pointer to extend the lead 52–46, sparking a 13–2 run for the Polar Bears, who then held a double-digit lead for the remainder of the game.

“I think my role stays the same whether I start or not,” Chilson wrote. “When I’m in the game, I try to make the right play and hunt shots from the three-point line, and when I’m not, I celebrate my teammates’ successes and try to give energy from the bench.”

Ray Cuevas ’28 continued his all-star rookie campaign with 18 points in the game and Chilson added 12 points of his own, shooting 4–7 from beyond the arc. In the paint, Bessire had six points, 11 rebounds and five assists to bolster the Polar Bears on both ends of the court. Bowdoin held Middlebury to 28 percent shooting from the floor, as the Panthers only converted nine of their 36 three-point attempts.

“A lot of times in the Middlebury game, I was catching the ball at the free-throw line, maybe in the middle of the half-court, and then I had to look and make the decision,” Bessire said. “ I know I am surrounded by great shooters, and if I can fan it out to one of the guys, I have a ton of confidence for them to knock it down.”

The Polar Bears played their second game of the weekend at Williams College (14–7; 3–4 NESCAC), losing 66–63 in a back-and-forth battle on Saturday afternoon.

“Williams got a lot of transition buckets and uncontested layups,” Chilson wrote. “I think we needed to play with more force on defense and make it more difficult for them to score.”

Fueled by 11 points from Cuevas, the Polar Bears were up 34–24 at halftime. They continued their scoring run, leading by 14 points with a little over ten minutes left in the game after a three-pointer from Alex Halpern ’26. From there, the Ephs went on a 20–0 run over the next seven minutes, erasing the double-digit deficit and leading the Polar Bears 60–54 with under three minutes left in the game. Bowdoin tried to foul, repeatedly putting the Ephs on the free-throw line to give the Bears as much time as possible to tie or win the game, but it was too late.

“After coming off the win against Middlebury, we were feeling a little more confident than we should have,” Bessire said. “We kept our composure pretty well and stayed in the game the whole time. At the end of the day, we just weren’t able to get a couple more shots to fall, a couple more stops on defense.”

Cuevas finished with a double-double, 17 points and 11 rebounds, while Bessire added ten points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Chilson also had ten points and six rebounds of his own.

“I think the biggest thing is to not get comfortable and complacent with any lead or any position,” Bessire said. “Knowing how quickly things can turn around, especially in the NESCAC where every team is a strong competitor, and anyone can go on a 10–0 run at any moment.”

The team will play their last two regular season games this weekend in Morrell Gymnasium, starting with Wesleyan College (22–0; 8–0 NESCAC) at 7 p.m. tonight and Trinity College (19–3; 6–2 NESCAC) at 3 p.m. tomorrow.