Courtesy of Brian Beard

After a close loss 70–66 at home against Brandeis University (3–4) on November 16, the men’s basketball team (5–2; 0 – 1 NESCAC) found itself on a four-game win streak to close out the month of November.

The streak was highlighted by back-to-back 90-point performances against University of Massachusetts Boston (3–5) and Springfield College (2–5), which Alex Halpern ’26 attributed to increasing offensive pace.

“I think the goal going into the year is to play faster,” Halpern said. “Last year, we were in the bottom ten percent in the country in pace, and so every practice we’re emphasizing playing fast, getting a lot of shots up. Having a couple 90-point games [and] 80-point games already is a testament to what we’re working on.”

The loss against Brandeis early on taught the Polar Bears to balance the pacing they had been developing in practice with their team’s skillset.

“[The game against Brandeis] helped us realize the point of emphasis of pushing the ball and learning how to be fast but also play with a pace to us, because sometimes you get a little sped up and [force] too many turnovers,” Cuevas said. “Games like Brandeis hurt us with the turnovers [and] too many late-game mistakes.”

Cuevas has played an integral part in the team’s early success, averaging 23 points per game this season. He led the team with 33 points against UMass Boston and 29 points against both the University of Maine Farmington and Springfield. His efforts earned him  NESCAC Player of the Week last week.

“I think we have a really good mix of talent and experience. Cuevas [is] obviously a focal point offensively for us,” Halpern said. “He’s able to do a lot of things on his own, but [for] everyone else, putting him in the right spot, putting ourselves in the right spot [is important] so that we can all come up big down the stretch and make meaningful contributions as a group.

The team is anticipating more physical games as it prepares for NESCAC and non-conference play. Bowdoin dropped their first NESCAC game against Bates (7–0; 0–0 NESCAC). Halpern commented on the team’s preparations for this.

“It’s gonna be a lot more physical, a lot more of a chess match,” Halpern said. “Some of the games we’ve been able to get through with talent, but now when we’re practicing, it’s a lot of focus on execution, understanding these games mean a little bit more. It’s gonna be more physical, and you just have to keep giving punches every time you can.”

The team faces Carnegie Mellon University (5–1) and University of Rochester (6–1) this weekend at home.

“[Non-conference games] are going to be really important for our NCAA seeding. But it just goes to show that every game is so important. You have to take each game for what it is,” Cuevas said. “You can’t look ahead too far. We’re not even looking at Rochester. We’re looking at just Carnegie Mellon, so just taking one game at a time, especially going into the back-to-backs and conference play.”

For Halpern and Cuevas, hosting a NESCAC playoff game would mark a successful season.

“I think we can host the playoff game this year,” Cuevas said. “I think guys are going to really start to gel, especially going towards January and [winter break], that time period to just work out and get better as a team. I feel like we’re going to get good at the right time. I know that.”