With the win, the Bobcats clinched a tie with Wesleyan for fifth place in the final NESCAC standings. Bates, however, wins the tiebreaker based on their 77-56 win over the Cardinals during the regular season, and will be the No. 5 seed in the 2004 NESCAC Championship.
The Bobcats will face No. 4 seed Bowdoin in the quarterfinal round in Brunswick next Saturday. Bates split the season series with the Polar Bears, winning at home in the Colby-Bates-Bowdoin game, but losing on the road in the game which counted in the NESCAC standings.
The Bobcats were a little sluggish out the gate following last night's thriller with top-ranked Williams, falling behind 9-3 when Middlebury's John Donnelly hit a 3-pointer just over four minutes into the game.
Bates responded by outscoring the Panthers 41-17 for the remainder of the half to build an 18-point halftime advantage. The Bobcats scored 18 points off turnovers and the team was 7-for-17 from 3-point range in the first half.
Middlebury was never able to make a serious run at the lead, with Bates leading by at least 14 points for the entire second half.
Garcia '04 (Haverhill, Mass.) was 4-for-8 from behind the arc and added a game-high four assists. Zak Ray '07 (Bangor, Maine) added 12 points, eight rebounds and six steals for the Bobcats, who improved to 17-7, 4-5 NESCAC. Rob Stockwell '07 (Temple, N.H.) scored 12 points in 19 minutes for Bates, and Jon Furbush '05 (South Portland, Maine) added 11 points.
Nate Anderson scored 13 points for the Panthers, who fell to 12-11, 2-7. Middlebury finished the regular season in a three-way tie for seventh in the NESCAC standings.
Newspaper Box Score Middlebury vs Bates 02/14/04 3:00 p.m. at Lewiston, Maine At Lewiston, Maine BATES 81, MIDDLEBURY 58 MIDDLEBURY (12-11/2-7 NESCAC) Nate Anderson 6-11 1-2 13; Clark Read 3-5 1-2 8; John Donnelly 2-5 2-2 7; Bobby Marcoux 1-1 3-4 5; Mike Salek 1-5 2-2 4; Simon Behan 1-5 0-0 3; David Coratti 1-4 0-0 3; Mike Keenan 1-5 0-0 3; Steve Vento 1-2 0-0 2; Adam Sinoway 1-3 0-0 2; John Versoza 1-2 0-0 2; Sam Daly 1-3 0-0 2; Koby Altman 1-2 0-1 2; Chris Matthiesen 0-1 0-0 0; Evan Thompson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 11-15 58. BATES (17-7/5-4 NESCAC) Ramon Garcia 6-13 0-0 16; Zak Ray 4-8 3-5 12; Rob Stockwell 5-10 1-1 12; Jon Furbush 3-9 2-2 11; Brian Gerrity 1-7 6-6 8; Victor Rivera 1-2 4-5 6; Matt Chudomel 0-2 6-8 6; Elliott Linsley 3-6 0-0 6; Pat Conroy 1-1 0-2 2; Sam Taylor 1-1 0-0 2; John Lattimer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 22-29 81. Middlebury.................... 26 32 - 58 Bates......................... 44 37 - 81 3-point goals-Middlebury 5-21 (John Donnelly 1-2; Clark Read 1-1; Mike Keenan 1-5; David Coratti 1-2; Simon Behan 1-1; John Versoza 0-1; Koby Altman 0-1; Adam Sinoway 0-2; Steve Vento 0-1; Mike Salek 0-3; Nate Anderson 0-2), Bates 9-25 (Ramon Garcia 4-8; Jon Furbush 3-7; Rob Stockwell 1-3; Zak Ray 1-2; Brian Gerrity 0-5). Fouled out--Middlebury-None, Bates-None. Rebounds-Middlebury 27 (Clark Read 5; Nate Anderson 5), Bates 46 (Zak Ray 8; Victor Rivera 8). Assists-Middlebury 3 (David Coratti 2), Bates 11 (Ramon Garcia 4). Total fouls-Middlebury 23, Bates 17. A-314