LEWISTON, Maine — The Bates College men’s basketball team fell 58-51 to No. 14 nationally ranked WPI Tuesday evening in Alumni Gymnasium, dropping its third straight game while the visiting Engineers moved to 9-1 with their second straight victory in a matchup of two NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago.
Clyde Niba made 4-of-5 3-pointer attempts in the first half, keeping the Engineers (9-1) right in the game at a halftime deficit of 31-30. Niba finished with a game-high 20 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sean Doncaster pitched in 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field.
Mike Boornazian led Bates (4-5) with 15 points and three assists, while Mike Newton posted 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds and three steals.
Bates led 43-41 after a Newton jumper with 9:49 left in the game, but the Engineers took the lead for good with an 8-0 run, including hoops by Niba and Doncaster as well as three free throws by Obi Obiora.
Boornazian moved into the top 20 on Bates’ list of all-time scorers, with 1,150 points, stepping ahead of Mike Marsh ’97 (1,148) as well as Keith Ferdinando ’93 (1,140).
Hamilton 76, USM 72
At Phoenix, freshman Peter Hoffman scored 19 points to lead four players in double figures as the Hamilton College Continentals earned a 76-72 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies at the 2015 Arizona Shootout at the Phoenix Convention Center.
Hamilton extends its winning streak to three games with its victory over the Huskies improving its record to 7-3. Southern Maine finishes it Arizona trip with a 1-1 record and is now 6-6 with the loss.
Hoffman was 6-for-15 from the field to lead the Continentals. Junior Kyle Pitman added 18 points off of the bench, and senior Jack Donnelly tossed in 12 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Sophomore Jack Dwyer added 10 points.
Southern Maine senior Jose Nouchanthavong led the Huskies with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-17 shooting, including a 3-for-6 effort from three-point range. Juniors Zach Leal and Atencio Martin scored 15 and 13 points respectively, while Martin snagged a game-high 10 rebounds to grab a double-double. Senior Cole Libby tossed in 11 points.