With the win, Bates raised its record to 8-2, while Springfield fell to 3-8.
Earlier in the evening, the Bates women won the women’s side of this tournament, defeating Trinity University of Texas, 76-71 in overtime in the title game.
Bates trailed by as many as 10 in the first half (24-14), but came back to close the gap to just one (36-35) at the half. The key stretch came at the beginning of the second half when Bates scored the first 9 points to take a 44-36 lead with 16:34 left. For the next 10 minutes or so, Bates kept the lead anywhere from 3 to 8 points.
With 3:58 left, after two free throws by senior center Matt Chudomel (Wellfleet, Mass./Nauset HS), Bates led by 11 (62-51). Bates still led by 11 with 2:29 to go following a hoop by sophomore guard Bryan Wholey (Marshfield, Mass./BC High), 64-53. Springfield cut it 5 with just 4 seconds left, but by then it was too little, too late.
Ray was a force for Bates with his 17 points and 6 assists. The 5-11 junior guard from Bangor, Maine/Bangor HS) ran the show extremely well throughout the tourney and was named the MVP of the Classic. The leading scorer for Bates was junior forward Rob Stockwell (Temple, N.H./New Hampton School) with 20 points (and 8-of-12 from the floor). He was named to the all-tourney team. Wholey added 14 points.
For Springfield, named to the all-tourney team were senior guard Derek Yvon (East Longmeadow, Mass./Cathedral HS) with his 18 points, and junior forward Damian Farley (Natick, Mass./Natick HS) with his 17 points (and 8 rebounds). In addition, senior forward Joel Aponte (Windsor, Conn./Windsor HS) had 19 points (and 6 rebounds).
The 2006 Holiday Inn-Naismith All-Tournament Team:
Zak Ray (MVP), Bates College
Rob Stockwell, Bates College
Derek Yvon, Springfield College
Damian Farley, Springfield College
Ross Burt, Trinity (TX)
Andrew St. Clair, Colby-Sawyer