The Bowdoin's Men's Basketball Team was knocked out of the NESCAC playoffs this weekend as Trinity defeated Bowdoin 77-67, ending the Polar Bears' season.
The seventh-seeded Polar Bears visited No. 2 seed Trinity on Saturday hoping to win a quarterfinal NESCAC playoff game for the first time in Bowdoin's tournament history, but the Bears faced a Bantam squad that was undefeated at home this season.
Andrew Hippert '08 became only the 18th player in Polar Bear history and the second of the season to score more than 1,000 points in a career. The milestone came on a layup in the first half. He finished with 18 points.
Kyle Jackson '09 carried the Polar Bear offense for much of the first half, scoring 12 of its 29 points in the first half. Jackson finished with a game-high 19 points. Halftime arrived with the score tied 29-29.
The two teams kept it close for the beginning of the second half, but after Bowdoin took a slight advantage 43-39, the Bantams went on a devastating 20-3 run to take control of the game. Although the Polar Bears were able to cut into the lead several times, the Bantams never relinquished it.
Clutch free throws sealed the victory for Trinity, which had five players scoring in double figures. The Polar Bears had only three players in double digits, including Andrew Sargeantson '08, who notched 10 points. Trinity will travel to Amherst this weekend to face the Lord Jeffs in the semifinals.
The Polar Bears end the season with a 15-10 overall record, but they finished seventh in NESCAC play with a 3-7 league record.
"It was a good season, not a great season," said Bradley. "Things could have gone a little better, but I'm happy with the amount of effort and work the guys put in this season, especially down the stretch."
The team hopes to bring back 10 returning players as the Bears say goodbye to senior co-captains John Goodridge and Kevin Bradley.
"We will definitely miss Kevin and John," said Hippert, "but we do have a nice core of talented younger players and an experienced group of veteran players. We hope to stay competitive."