Tufts had tied the score at 62-62 on a short jumper by sophomore Scott Armstrong (Rockville, MD) that rolled around the rim before falling through the net with three seconds remaining on the clock. After a time-out Bates in-bounded the ball to Ray, who dribbled up court and popped a three from the 30-foot range to send the Bobcats into a victorious frenzy.
Bates improved to 3-0 in the conference and 13-3 overall with their sixth straight win. Senior tri-captain Ramon Garcia (Haverhill, MA) led the Bobcats with 20 points. Tufts, which dropped to 4-11 and 1-2 in NESCAC, got 17 points from senior co-captain Deyvehn East (Greenfield, MA).
A crowd of 500 at venerable Cousens and a physical, tightly contested game created a great atmosphere. Bates led by as many as nine points twice in the first half, including 28-19 after a dunk by junior Victor Rivera (New York, NY) at 6:45. Tufts managed to cut the deficit all the way down to one, 38-37, when seldom-used guard Jesse Belodoff (Newton, MA) drained a three from the corner with four seconds to go until halftime.
The second half didn’t see a lead of more than five points for either team. Tufts took what would be its last lead at 49-48 when junior guard Andrew Kaklamanos (Jupiter, FL) hit a jumper at 10:16. After another three by Garcia gave Bates at 53-49 advantage at 9:21, but Tufts tied the score at 56-56 on a lay-up by Armstrong at 5:32.
As the clock wound down under four minutes, Bates junior Elliott Linsely (Murrieta, CA) converted a lay-up shortly after an offensive rebound by freshman Rob Stockwell (Temple, NH). Tufts then missed a jumper and Garcia hit another three ball to put the Bobcats up 61-56 at 3:10, their largest lead of the half. Four free throws pulled the Jumbos to within 62-60 at 1:39. Garcia then missed a three, Tufts’ Reggie Stovell (Washington, DC) missed a jumper, and Garcia turned the ball over to give Tufts a chance to tie it. After calling a time out with six seconds on the clock, Armstrong hit the lay-up to make it 62-62. However, there was enough time on the clock for Bates to make a play. After a time-out, Ray became the hero.
Linsley was the only other Bobcat in double-figures with 10 points. Ray finished with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists. Bates shot just 35.7 percent (20/56), but was 16 for 20 from the line (80 percent). Kaklamanos had 12 points for a Tufts team that shot just 38.6 percent (22/57) itself. Freshman Brian Kumf (Milford, MA) provided a spark again with 11 points and eight rebounds.
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