AMHERST, Mass. -- On a day when the Amherst College men's basketball team honored seniors Mohammed Alausa and Dan Schlakman, the Mammoths produced another thriller in LeFrak Gymnasium, ultimately falling to Bowdoin College, 65-61. 

Amherst fell to 14-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play. The Mammoths will hit the road for the quarterfinals of the conference tournament next Saturday, opponent and time TBD. Colby Bowdoin finished its season at 9-15 overall, 3-7 in the NESCAC.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

* Down five at halftime, the Mammoths opened the second half with a 9-2 run that allowed them to lead 40-38 with just over four minutes gone in the stanza. Marc Garraud hit a huge three-pointer and lay-up to turn a 38-33 deficit into a tie game at 38-all. Will Scherer then sank a pair of free throws for a 40-38 advantage. 

* The Polar Bears quickly regained the lead on a Michael Simonds' three-pointer. Amherst would stay in it as the deficit fluctuated between one ad six points. With 4:52 to go Mohammed Alausa made a big steal and subsequent lay-up. Dan Schlakman followed an offensive rebound with a basket that made it 58-57 with 3:27 remaining. 

* Amherst trailed 61-57 when Charlie Randall drove to the baseline and hit a floater from 10 feet that cut the deficit to two at 61-59 with 58.8 seconds left. But Bowdoin was able to keep the Mammoths at bay over the final 50 seconds despite another Schlakman basket. 

* Schlakman scored the game's first seven points for the Mammoths as helped bring them back from an 8-4 deficit. Down 12-9 early, Drew Martin knocked down a trey from the left corner that tied the game at 12. Moments later after a Bobby Sommers defensive rebound, Martin laid in a shot from the block for a 15-14 Amherst lead with 9:13 remaining in the half. After a Polar Bear turnover, C.J. Mitchell drained a three-ball for an 18-14 lead and then came up with a steal on the defensive end, leading to a Sommers lay-in from the paint for a six-point Mammoths lead with 7:59 to go. 

* Bowdoin would fight its way back in, regaining a lead when Alex Halpern sank a three-pointer for a 28-27 advantage with just over five minutes remaining. A pair of Will Scherer lay-ups from the paint would give Amherst close, but ultimately the visitors would take a 36-31 lead in the locker rooms at halftime. 

* Bowdoin's edge on the glass, 19-14, made a difference over the first 20 minutes. Both teams shot well, with the Polar Bears hitting 14 of 32 shots (43.8 pct.) from the floor and the Mammoths connecting on 13 of 28 (46.4 pct.).

BY THE NUMBERS:

* Schlakman led the Mammoths with 14 points, tying his career-high in his final game at LeFrak. He added 4 points, 1 steal and 1 block. Alausa notched 4 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. 

* The game was decided on the glass, as Bowdoin finished with a 39-31 advantage and had 13 second-chance points to the Mammoths' 7. And also at the foul line, where Bowdoin connected on 10 of 12 shots (83.3 pct.) to the Mammoths' 52.9 (9 of 17) shots.

* Bobby Sommers notched 9 points for Amherst, and also had a team-high 6 rebounds. Mitchell finished with 7 points. Scherer notched 8 points and 4 rebounds.