The new year has not been kind to the men's basketball team. The Polar Bears have dropped four of their last five January games, including two of their first three NESCAC matchups.
"We've hit a little bit of a rough patch lately," said an upbeat men's basketball Head Coach, Tim Gilbride. "I've missed a few games myself because I've been sick, but I'm confident we can get things back on track."
The team will put their coach's confidence to the test this weekend as they host a strong Amherst team tonight and Trinity on Saturday.
"These are two very important games," said Gilbride. "We're facing two good teams, and two NESCAC teams at home, so we're definitely hoping for a strong performance."
In the team's first NESCAC game of the new year, the Polar Bears were locked in a nail biter against their rival Colby Mules. The Polar Bears carried a three-point lead into the locker room at halftime, but could not push their advantage any further in the early second half.
Colby tied the game at 37 on a layup and would not trail the rest of the game. After allowing Colby to build a lead, a late Polar Bear rally fell just short as senior captain Paul Sellew's potential game winning three-point try rimmed out, leading to the team's 53-51 defeat in their NESCAC opener.
Looking to rebound against out of conference opponents, Babson College, the Polar Bears were undone by their 21 turnovers. After trailing by a game-high eight points with just over five minutes remaining on the game clock, the Polar Bears ripped off a 13-5 run capped off by a clutch three-pointer by sophomore guard Ryan O'Connell to tie the game at 60. On the game's final possession, the Polar Bears almost pressured Babson into a turnover, but Babson guard Matt Florio tracked down the loose ball, giving his teammate, Alex Rudolph, the chance to make the game-winning three-pointer to lead Babson over the Polar Bears 63-60.
Hoping to avoid its third consecutive loss, Bowdoin traveled to Lewiston to take on the Bobcats. Led by senior Mark Philips's double-double, the Polar Bears battled to a thrilling 74-70 overtime victory. Will Hanley '12 opened the overtime period with consecutive layups to give the Polar Bears a 67-66 advantage. After a Bates basket, O'Connell regained the lead for Bowdoin with another clutch 3-pointer. Senior Mike Hauser's two free-throw shots sealed the team's first NESCAC victory.
However, the Polar Bears were unable to maintain any momentum from their victory over Bates when they traveled to take on NESCAC-foe Tufts. A 3-pointer from Tufts senior Dave Beyel broke a 53-53 tie with under 30 seconds left in regulation to lead the Jumbos over Bowdoin for an eventual 58-53 win.
Against the Thomas College Terriers, Bowdoin was unable to find their winning form, losing 81-70 after a 15-0 run in the second half opened up what proved to be an insurmountable lead for the Terriers.
"We've just got to keep on getting better," said sophomore guard Justin Nowell. "We've been a little up and down this season and we've lost a lot of close games, but I definitely think we can get back on the right track in our next few games."
The Polar Bears, now 9-6 overall and 1-2 in NESCAC play, will look to finish the weekend with a pair of wins against their NESCAC rivals at Morrell Gymnasium this weekend.