The men's basketball team rebounded from a loss at Bates last weekend with a decisive win 85-72 victory over Colby-Sawyer yesterday evening. The win came on the heels of the Polar Bears' victory over Maine Maritime on Tuesday afternoon.
Sophomore Max Staiger led Bowdoin with 19 points. He shot an impressive nine of 10 from the field in only 19 minutes of play.
Will Hanley '12 contributed a double-double, playing all 40 minutes of the game. He scored 17 points and led the Polar Bears with 13 rebounds, three of which were offensive.
The team also played on Tuesday night, and sharp shooting in the second half fueled an 83-68 victory against Maine Maritime.
The Mariners, who fell to 3-5 with the loss, were able to keep the game close with 14 first-half points from Shawn Dostie, and headed into halftime trailing only 42-37. But the Polar Bears had the hot hand in the second half, exploding on a 12-2 run as they hit five out of their first six shots. The team held Dostie to only six second-half points, and shot an impressive 64 percent from the field and 55 percent from behind the arc. The team snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 3-2 with the win.
Four players scored in double figures, and Hanley led the team with 18 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Senior Randy DeFeo connected on four three-pointers, ending with 16, and Ryan O'Connel '12 netted 14. Justin Nowell '12 added 16 points, five assists and four steals for the Bears.
"It felt good to bounce back from the loss at Bates," said O'Connel. "There was a balance in scoring against Maine Maritime, and a lot of guys saw the court so it was a great game to get us back on the right track."
Bowdoin traveled to Bates last weekend for a heated matchup, even though it did not count toward the NESCAC standings. The Polar Bears saw their last lead at 10-9 and found themselves trailing 41-27 at the half after nine unanswered points by Bates, which sunk 17 of 30 shots from the field.
"We tried to respond to Bates' sharp shooting by getting out on their shooters and contesting their shots," said Tom Carter '12. "We had done a poor job of that in the first half and knew that, in order to remain in the game, we had to improve this facet of our defense."
The Polar Bears fought back with a three-point play from Nowell, followed by a three pointer and layup from O'Connel that brought the team within six with 17:54 to play. But Bates seemed to hit every shot it took, finishing the game shooting 57 percent from the field and claiming a 86-65 win.
Three players combined to score 68 percent of Bates points, led by sophomore Mark Brust who tallied 21 points. Seniors Brian Ellis and Alex Gallant scored 20 and 18 points, respectively.
Hanley led the Polar Bears with a double-double, posting 21 points and 10 rebounds. O'Connell finished with 12 points and Nowell with 11.
The team will finish the week by hosting Colby (4-4) tomorrow.
"One of our goals is to take it one game at a time. It is really important, however, to win on our home floor come Saturday in front of our fans," said Nowell. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. in Morrell Gymnasium.
-Nora Biette-Timmons contributed to this report.