Men's Basketball Falls to Bowdoin, 88-81

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Jack Bors (Upper Saddle River, N.J.) scored a game-high 23 points off the bench to lead the visiting Bowdoin College men's basketball team to an 88-81 victory over Bridgewater State University on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Polar Bears improve to 7-4 on the season, while the Bears fall to 7-5 with their second straight setback. Bowdoin is now 7-4 all-time versus Bridgewater State as the Polar Bears have won each of the last four meetings.

Bors went 7-for-9 from the floor including a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range. He also converted 6 of 7 free throw attempts.

Sophomore forward Jack Simonds (Falmouth, Maine) added 17 points for the visitors, while classmate Hugh O'Neil (Lexington, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Junior guard Blake Gordon (Brunswick, Maine) checked in with 14 points.

Senior guard Keyon Armstrong (Brockton, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 17 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench, while junior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) notched 16 points and a game-high seven assists. Senior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) and senior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) added 13 and ten points, respectively for the Bears.

Bowdoin used a 10-2 run in the first half to open up a 19-9 lead with 12:38 remaining. Simonds accounted for eight of the ten points during the spurt on a pair of three-pointers and a mid-range jumper.

The lead fluctuated between five and nine points for the next seven minutes before back-to-back three-pointers by Blake and Bors followed by a Bors free throw gave the visitors a commanding 37-31 advantage with three minutes left to play in the stanza. Bowdoin would ultimately take a 44-28 lead into the break.

Bors tallied 13 of his 23 points in the first half while Gordon scored 11. The Polar Bears shot 50% (15-30) from the floor over the first 20 minutes including 6-for-10 (60%) from behind the arc.

Junior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.) paced the Bears with nine points in the opening period, but did not play in the second half due to injury. Bridgewater shot just 32% (9-28) from the floor in the first half.

An 8-0 BSU run early in the final stanza, highlighted by an Armstrong three-pointer, cut the deficit to 49-39. Bowdoin, however, answered with seven straight points on the strength of a layup and three-pointer from freshman guard David Reynolds (Raleigh, N.C.) to extend the lead to 17 (56-39). Later in the period, an 8-0 Polar Bear run capped off by a pair of three-pointers by Bors, gave the visitors their biggest lead of the game at 70-49.

Trailing 78-62 with 5:29 remaining, back-to-back trifectas from Armstrong and Romanko pulled the Bears to within ten (78-68) once again. A pair of free throws by senior forward Michael Soares (Milford, Mass.) with 50.4 seconds left to play got the deficit to single digits, 85-76. Following a turnover, Soares drove to the hoop for a layup to make it a seven-point game (85-78) as the clock ticked down to 35 seconds. The Bears quickly forced another turnover and had a chance to get to within five, but were unable to capitalize. Simonds went 3-for-4 from the line in the final 21 seconds to help secure the 88-81 win for the visitors.

For the game, the Polar Bears shot 56% (30-54) from the floor, a sweltering 63% (10-16) from behind the arc and 90% (18-20) at the free throw line. Bridgewater shot 39% (24-61) from the field and went 11-for-28 (39%) from three-point range. The Bears missed nine free throws on the evening as they converted just 22 of 31 (71%) at the charity stripe.

Bridgewater held a 35-32 rebounding advantage with a decided 15-5 edge on the offensive glass. The Bears turned those 15 offensive boards into 20 second chance points.

The Bears travel to UMass Boston on Thursday evening for a seven o'clock game with the Beacons. The Polar Bears open New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) play on Friday night at seven at home against Tufts University.