LEWISTON, ME – Final-minute free throws from senior Ryker Vance, junior Chris Hammond, and sophomore Marc Garraud allowed Amherst to narrowly beat Bates 72-68 Friday night in a tight first conference match-up of the year.

Amherst improved to 10-4 on the season and 1-0 in conference play while Bates dropped to 6-6 and 0-1 in the NESCAC.

The Mammoths will head home to play Trinity College for their second conference showdown of the season on Friday, January 17^th, at 7 p.m. in the LeFrak Gym.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS:

*Both teams traded buckets in the starting five minutes, with Bates slightly creeping past Amherst at 10-8 with 14:39 remaining. Garraud helped the Mammoths fight for the equalizer, bucketing two three-pointers in the opening three minutes to notch Amherst's first 6 points.

*Down 15-8 with just over thirteen minutes remaining, sophomore Johnny McCain threaded the ball to senior C.J. Mitchell at the arc to tally three points for the Mammoths. One minute later, the duo combined again to give Mitchell another three-pointer and help Amherst claw back for a one-point game at 15-14.

*With one second remaining in the stanza, Garraud hit a dramatic buzzer-beater to equalize the game 36-36 for the Mammoths. Stealing the ball off an inbound Bobcat pass, the guard turned and took one dribble to cross the half-court line before volleying the ball up and into the net to pull off the equalizer as the clock expired.

*The Mammoths sped away at the start of the second half, racing into the lead with an 8-0 run highlighted by two emphatic dunks from senior Will Scherer and senior Bobby Sommers at 18:43 and 16:57 respectively. Scherer added a layup and Hammond bucketed another to take the Mammoths up 46-39 with just under seventeen minutes remaining.

*The following ten minute period was a back-n-forth affair with the Mammoths clinging to a small lead until a three-pointer from Bates sophomore Babacar Pouye tied the game at 56-56 with 7:11 remaining.

*Trailing by four with 3:18 left to play, Hammond found Mitchell at the arc to sink a three-pointer and whittle the Bobcats' lead down to one point at 65-64.

*As both teams grappled for the game-winner in the final minute, Vance rebounded the ball at the block and slipped his shot into the net to give the Mammoths the lead with 55 seconds remaining. 24 seconds later, Garraud converted two free throws to give Amherst a three-point lead. As the Bobcats exploded down the court to grapple for the equalizer, Vance secured another rebound to win Amherst the ball. Two more free throws from Vance at the three-second mark gave the Mammoths the 72-68 lead they needed to end Bates's momentum.

BY THE NUMBERS:

*Bates held a small advantage in field goal and three-pointer conversions, scoring 43.1% (11-32) to 39.7% (8-24) in field goals and 34.4% to 33.3% in three-pointers. Amherst held the advantage in free throw conversions, netting 77.8% to 70% from the Bobcats.

*Hammond tallied 16 points, the most of any Amherst player. Scherer led defensively with the most rebounds of any player, catching 9, as well as making 3 blocks. Sommers followed close behind with 8 rebounds of his own.

*With the win, Amherst maintained a 16-game winning streak against the Bobcats, a streak developed since 2011.