AMHERST, MA – The Amherst College men's basketball team held Bates College to just 8 points while riding a fifteen-minute 34-point surge to grab a late lead and finish 71-50 over the Bobcats on Friday evening at LeFrak Gymnasium.
Amherst improved to 11-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Bates fell to 11-2 and 0-1 in the NESCAC. Up next, the Mammoths will hit the road to face Trinity College on Friday at 7 p.m. in Oosting Gymnasium.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS:
*The Bobcats got on the board first, with sophomore Sean O'Leary settling a loose ball inside the paint to launch a jumper 22 seconds into the contest. The visitors proceeded to make it an 11-4 lead, helped by layups from sophomore Keenan Sparks and junior Babacar Pouye.
*A string of threes heated things up for the Mammoth offensive unit as the score narrowed to 11-10. At 15:59, sophomore Elias Chin delivered a three-pointer from the left corner. Under one minute later, the guard found junior Nate Pabis on the left wing to pour in three more points.
*Bates responded with their own streak of threes between 12:42 and 12:10 remaining as Pouye and first-year Jamari Robinson each scored a three-pointer on feeds from Sparks, extending the lead to 21-16.
*A free throw from first-year K.J. Neville knotted the game up at 29-29 with 6:11 to play. Both sides traded buckets in the final five minutes to close the first half 35-32 in the Bobcats' favor.
*Neville fired up Amherst's offense only 20 seconds into the second half, netting a three-pointer on a feed from first-year Sherron Woodberry to equalize the contest 35-35.
*The Mammoths embarked on an 11-1 surge over the following seven minutes to break into the lead. The effort was highlighted by a strong effort from senior Drew Martin, who poured in six points with three layups, alongside assisting Neville behind the arch to add three more points to the tally.
*Senior Chris Hammond got in on the action at 11:49 when Woodberry sent him a high-flying ball at the left side of the arch to extend the lead to 49-38. Moments later, Neville notched a three-pointer of his own from the same spot to give the Mammoths a 52-38 advantage with 11:09 remaining.
*A layup from Pouye and a three from senior Brady Coyne at 10:27 and 8:55, respectively, helped the Bobcats regain some of their offensive rhythm and make it a ten-point game at 53-43.
*A three-pointer from Woodberry led off another 13-0 drive for Amherst in the following five minutes. Chin netted three back-to-back buckets with a jumper and two layups to add six points, while Martin and Neville made one layup each to keep the Mammoths out in front with a 66-43 lead and 4:36 remaining.
*Both sides traded free throws in the final minutes to close the game 71-50 for Amherst.
BY THE NUMBERS:
*Amherst held the offensive advantage in field goal and three-pointer conversions, shooting 30.5% (18-59) compared to 47.4% (27-57) of field goals, and 41.2% (7-17) compared to 16.1% (5-31) of three-pointers. Bates converted more free throws, netting 69.2% (9-13) compared to Amherst's 47.6% (10-21).
*Neville scored a game-high and season-high 18 points. The guard also contributed 8 rebounds and 2 blocks for the Mammoths. Hammond and Martin followed close behind in scoring, bucketing 14 and 12 points, respectively.
