LEWISTON — The Bowdoin College men’s basketball team had a plan coming into Wednesday’s non-conference contest against rival Bates inside Alumni Gymnasium — try to take away the inside presence of brothers Marcus and Malcolm Delpeche.
The Bobcats turned the tables on the Polar Bears, though, hitting their first five attempts from 3-point range before going inside to the Delpeche tandem en route to a 74-60 victory.
There was little that went wrong for Bates (5-2) in the first half. The Bobcats hit to the tune of 63-percent from the field, including a sterling 7-of-9 performance from behind the arc, taking a 43-24 halftime lead.
“They shot very well in the first half, and we were trying to do some things defensively that we didn’t do a good job of,” Bowdoin coach Tim Gilbride said. “In the second half, we did better, getting defensive stops regularly. If we could have been a little more efficient on offense, it would have been interesting.”
For Bates, beating Bowdoin hasn’t been easy, as the Bobcats came in having lost seven of their past eight contests to their rivals.
“For these seniors, Bowdoin has been a mental block for them over these four years,” said Bates coach Jon Furbush, whose Bobcats host Colby on Saturday at 6 p.m. “It is nice to get this one. I knew we would be really juiced up to play this one, but I didn’t think we would shoot that way.”
Big run
Bates trailed 4-2 early, but a 16-0 run proved decisive as the Bobcats took control. Max Hummel drained back-to-back 3-pointers for an 11-4 edge, and Quin Leary of Auburn hit a trey to close the run.
Bowdoin finally broke through on a David Reynolds bucket, but Tom Coyne finished off a pass from Jerome Darling for three more points, and Eli Frater made it 5-for-5 from long range for a 28-14 Bates lead.
From there, the Bobcats began sending passes inside. Marcus Delpeche had 10 first-half points, while Malcolm Delpeche and Hummel added eight points apiece as Bates claimed a 19-point lead at the break.
“The outside shooting really set the tone for our offense tonight, and it made it a lot easier for us once we started going inside,” said Marcus Delpeche, who had a game-high 25 points.
“That is what I have been trying to do with these guys the last couple of years,” said Furbush of his team’s inside-outside game. “We haven’t had guys knock down shots, and when we make shots from outside, our interior game is really good.”
Bowdoin looked to climb back in the game in the second half as Jack Bors came off the bench for 13 of his team-high 16 points, while Reynolds picked up nine of his 15 points in the second frame.
But, Bates kept Bowdoin from getting close enough to make the result in doubt.
“We doubled down a lot in the second half and got some turnovers, but it is tough when you get down by that much to come all the way back,” said Gilbride, whose Polar Bears visit Maine-Farmington on Saturday at 2 p.m.
“We want to win, not play not to lose, and we played fast the entire game and tested their transition defense, giving us some good interior looks,” Furbush said.
Marcus Delpeche fired up the home crowd with three thunderous dunks, including a spinning jam to finish off the 74-60 win.
“This a good win for us, and we have been working toward this,” Marcus Delpeche said.
Bowdoin leading scorer Jack Simonds was held to 12 points, while Tim Ahn added nine points and two steals. Hugh O’Neil led the Polar Bears with 12 rebounds.
Bates dominated the boards, out-rebounding Bowdoin 51-30, including 26-8 in the first half. Hummel and Malcolm Delpeche split 24 points down the middle, with Darling finishing with eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Malcolm Delpeche had a double-double as he added a team-high 10 boards.
Bowdoin shot 32.4-percent (22 of 68) for the game, including 8-for-25 from beyond the arc. Bates finished 29-of-61 from the floor (47.5 percent).
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