After a three-hour road trip, two overtimes and 108 points, the men's basketball team fell one point short in a heartbreaking loss to Bridgewater State on Tuesday night.
With the loss, the team drops to 13-8 (2-5 NESCAC). It was the Polar Bears' third loss in a row after falling last weekend to Williams and Middlebury, two nationally-ranked conference opponents.
After trading baskets with Bridgewater for most of the game, the Polar Bears lead by three points heading into the final seconds, but a game-tying three-pointer from Bridgewater's Nicholas Motta with five seconds remaining sent the game into overtime. During the period, neither team was able to pull ahead, forcing yet another overtime.
Down three points with six seconds remaining in this period, the Polar Bears looked to have one last possession. Justin Nowell '12, who had an impressive performance with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists, was fouled on a three-point attempt.
Although the Polar Bears are not known for a high free throw percentage, Nowell remained calm, sinking the first two of his shots. The third one did not fall, but was rebounded by Ryan O'Connell '12, who missed a tough bank-shot. With the clock winding down, guard Matt Mathias '14 grabbed another rebound and put up a desperation jumper that was blocked as the buzzer went off.
"We felt we had the game won multiple times," said senior captain Randy DeFeo. "With that said, turnovers, missed free throws and lack of stops all added up."
Despite the loss, Will Hanley '12 posted a career high 33 points and 12 rebounds before fouling out late in the second overtime. He sits 11 points shy of 1,000 for his college career. O'Connell and DeFeo both reached double figures, scoring 16 and 10 respectively.
The loss came after a pair of weekend home losses for the Polar Bears. The first came on Friday night as No. 2 Williams (21-1, 7-0 NESCAC) pulled away in the final minutes to earn an 85-66 victory.
The Ephs got off to a fast start, leading 24-13 midway through the first half. From there on out the game was a series of runs for both teams, as the Polar Bears responded with an 18-6 run to give the team a one point lead with six minutes remaining in the half. But Williams regrouped and closed the half on an explosive 14-2 run to take a nine point lead into intermission.
A 9-2 run by the Polar Bears in the second half trimmed the deficit to six with 5:51 remaining, but there was no way around the Ephs, who shut down the team's hopes at an upset by going on a 13-2 run in the next two minutes.
Hanley, who continues to average a double-double, posted 15 points and 12 rebounds, while O'Connell dropped in 14 points and Nowell added 11.
Saturday afternoon was no better for the Polar Bears, who suffered a 74-59 loss to No. 7 Middlebury (18-1, 6-1 NESCAC). After trailing by 12 at the half, Bowdoin came firing out of the locker room with a 14-2 run sparked by a pair of three-pointers from O'Connell. But the team was unable to capitalize on the rally as Middlebury took control and secured the victory, thanks to a 43-34 edge in rebounds and 19-4 edge in scoring from the bench.
Hanley led the team with 20 points and 15 rebounds, O'Connell scored 14 and Nowell scored 12.
Despite the two conference setbacks, the team is optimistic heading into its final two NESCAC games.
"The beautiful thing about basketball is that you need to forget about a loss and move on to the next game," said DeFeo. "We are still in great position to make the playoffs."
The Polar Bears head into their final weekend of conference play as they travel to Connecticut College on Friday and Wesleyan on Saturday. The team is fighting for a spot in the NESCAC tournament, and is currently tied for seventh with Connecticut College.