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Press Release

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AMHERST, Mass. — In one of the biggest victories in Bowdoin men's basketball history, the Polar Bears defeated top-ranked Amherst in the semifinals of the NESCAC Tournament on Saturday evening, 65-64. Fourth-seeded Bowdoin (21-5), who have already set a school record for wins this year, will play in their first-ever NESCAC Championship game on Sunday at 2:30 against the winner of the Middlebury-Trinity semifinal.

Before a packed house at Amherst's LeFrak Gymnasium, the teams traded buckets in a fast-paced opening half. Bowdoin went step-for-step with Amherst, before a quick spurt capped by a Steven Wheeler three-pointer triple put Amherst up 24-19 with 6:30 to go in the half. The Polar Bears responded with an 8-0 run, including a pair three pointers by junior Kyle Jackson and senior Andrew Hippert. Bowdoin stretched its lead as large as seven points at 34-27 and settled for a 36-30 halftime edge, riding 10 first-half points from Jackson and 8 points from Mark Phillips.

Bowdoin started the second half on a 6-0 run- capped by another Jackson trifecta- stretching their lead to a dozen, and forcing Amherst head coach David Hixon to call a timeout. Amherst pressed to try and cut into Bowdoin lead, but with just 12 minutes to play as a Tim Lane jumper made it 50-46 in favor of the Polar Bears.

Bowdoin maintained a double-digit advantage with under eight minutes to play, 56-45. The Polar Bear lead was closed to eight points at 58-50 on a pair of free throws by junior Brian Baskauskas. After consecutive stops by Amherst, Wheeler nailed a deep three-ball to cut the lead to just five points. Bowdoin called a timeout with 4:35 remaining after a foul was whistled to send Andrew Olson to the line. Olson hit both shots to close the margin to 58-55. Moments later, Wheeler connected on another long-range three-pointer to tie the game at 58, only to see Jackson respond with a three-pointer for Bowdoin on the ensuing possession.

A pair of free throws from Phillips put the Polar Bears up by four, only to have Baskauskas cut the lead in half with a turnaround jumper. On the next trip, Baskauskas nailed a three from the left corner to give Amherst a 64-63 lead. The lead was the first for the Lord Jeffs since the 5:42 mark in the first half.

Amherst forced the Polar Bears into a shot clock violation to get the ball back, this time with a chance to extend the lead. A turnover by Olson led to a breakaway lay-up by Bowdoin's Jordan Fliegel. With the Jeffs trailing 65-64, Baskauskas missed a runner on the baseline. With less than half a minute to play, the Jeffs were forced to foul. After a Bowdoin miss, and an offensive rebound, Andrew Sargeantson was fouled. He missed the front end of the one-and-one, giving the Jeffs the ball back. Olson dribbled in front of his own bench and called a timeout with 5.4 seconds to go.

Amherst designed a play to create the potentially game-winning shot. Olson was left to pull up for a deep three to win; a shot that rimmed out.

Bowdoin dealt the Jeffs their first loss at home for the since February 25, 2007. The Polar Bears were led by Jackson's 18 points and 14 points from Phillips. Fliegel (12) and Hippert (11) also saw double-figures for Bowdoin. The Polar Bears dominated the boards, holding a 33-22 edge on the glass. Bowdoin also connected on an impressive 57.4% of their shots in the game.

Amherst was paced by 16 points from Baskauskas.

Press release submitted by Bowdoin on Mar 01 2008 at 08:28 PM

Newspaper Box Score:




Bowdoin vs Amherst College
3-1-08 6 p.m. at Amherst, MA
At Amherst, MA
BOWDOIN 65, AMHERST COLLEGE 64
BOWDOIN (21-5)
Kyle Jackson 7-10 0-0 18; Mark Phillips 5-7 4-4 14; Jordan Fliegel 6-11 0-0
12; Andrew Hippert 5-11 0-1 11; Andrew Sargeantson 1-4 2-5 4; Mike Hauser
1-1 0-0 2; Randy DeFeo 1-2 0-0 2; Tim Lane 1-1 0-0 2; Darian Reid-Sturgis
0-0 0-0 0. Totals 27-47 6-10 65.
AMHERST COLLEGE (23-3)
Brian Baskauskas 6-10 3-3 16; Steven Wheeler 4-6 0-0 12; Andrew Olson 3-8
4-6 12; Brandon Jones 4-11 1-1 10; Kevin Hopkins 3-9 1-2 7; Matt Goldsmith
2-3 1-2 5; Fletcher Walters 1-7 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 10-14 64.
Bowdoin....................... 36 29 - 65
Amherst College............... 30 34 - 64
3-point goals--Bowdoin 5-13 (Kyle Jackson 4-7; Andrew Hippert 1-5; Randy
DeFeo 0-1), Amherst College 8-22 (Steven Wheeler 4-6; Andrew Olson 2-5;
Brandon Jones 1-6; Brian Baskauskas 1-3; Fletcher Walters 0-2). Fouled
out--Bowdoin-None, Amherst College-None. Rebounds--Bowdoin 33 (Andrew
Sargeantson 7), Amherst College 22 (Brandon Jones 6). Assists--Bowdoin 14
(Mike Hauser 5; Andrew Sargeantson 5), Amherst College 14 (Andrew Olson 7).
Total fouls--Bowdoin 14, Amherst College 10. Technical fouls--Bowdoin-None,
Amherst College-None. A-800
^NESCAC Championship Semifinal Game 1

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