The second-half charge from Bates in last Saturday's NESCAC quarterfinals ended the men's basketball team's three-game winning streak and knocked the Polar Bears out of NESCAC tournament play. The fourth-seeded Bobcats recovered from a 34-24 deficit at the half to squarely defeat fifth-seeded Bowdoin 67-51 in Saturday's game.
The Bears took the early lead off a three-point shot from sophomore Andrew Hippert. Hippert combined with senior Kyle Petrie and junior Kevin Bradley to post 31 points in the first half for Bowdoin. In addition, Bowdoin's defense kept the Bobcats' lead scorer, junior Rob Stockwell, away from the hoop.
Sophomore Andrew Sargeantson started Bowdoin off with a basket in the second half, which Bates answered with a series of free throws. The Bobcats went on to shave Bowdoin's lead to just four points with 15 minutes remaining. Bates run on the basket forced the Bears to call a timeout to regroup. The timeout was to no avail, as the brief moment of respite only reenergized the Bobcats, who took their first lead of the game with a one-point advantage. Within minutes, Bates had deepened Bowdoin's deficit, taking a 44-37 lead. In a last-ditch attempt to slow the Bobcats, Bowdoin players called a second timeout, but it was too late. The Bears fell to Bates for the second time this season. It was Bowdoin's second NESCAC quarterfinal appearance in two years.
The Bears close out their season with a 16-9 overall record an improvement over last season's 13-12 finish. Bates will face top-seeded Amherst this weekend in the semifinals.