ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Bates College men's basketball team rode hot shooting for the second straight day to defeat St. Lawrence University 71-50 on Saturday at the Chuck Resler Invitational at the University of Rochester.

Seniors Alex Gallant (Bangor, Maine) and Brian Ellis (Braintree, Mass.) and junior John Squires (Swampscott, Mass.) scored a combined 42 points on 16-for-21 shooting from the field. Bates hit 57.4 percent of its shots, including 52.9% from three-point range. The Bobcats shot above 54 percent from the field in all four halves they played over the two days.

Bates (2-0) turned around a 6-2 Saints lead into a 10-8 advantage for the Bobcats, as a three by Ellis capped a run of four straight made shots for a 10-8 lead with 15:55 left. After another three by Ellis and a three-point play by Gallant, the Bobcats assumed a double-digit lead at 22-12 with 10:41 left.

Bates led by as many as 15 in the period, on a pair of free throws by Squires at 1:44. A three by Saints junior Garrett Sharlow with 39 seconds left in the first cut the deficit to 10, and the half came to a close with Bates leading 38-28.

Back-to-back threes by senior Nick Schmiemann (Weymouth, Mass.) and sophomore Mark Brust (Duxbury, Mass.) put Bates on top by 17, at 48-31, with 16:30 to go in the second half.
A 3-pointer by junior Terry Parham and two quick baskets by classmate Ralph Temguoa brought the Saints to within eight, 50-42. Within 30 seconds, however, a layup by Squires and a three by first-year Luke Matarazzo (Shelton, Conn.) bumped the lead back to 13, 55-42, with 11:26 left. The Bobcats outscored the Saints 10-2, with six of Bates' points scored by Gallant, over the final eight minutes of the game.

Parham led the Saints (1-2) with a career-high 18 points, followed by Temguoa and Sharlow who added 12 and six rebounds and 11 points and seven rebounds, respectively.

Gallant finished with 18 points for the second straight day, shooting 7-of-11 from the floor. Ellis, who passed the 1,000-point mark in Friday's season-opening 74-60 win over Babson, scored 12 points, dished out three assists and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds, leading Bates to a 32-24 advantage on the boards. Squires made all five of his shots en route to 12 points. Brust scored nine points and junior Thomas Deegan (Weymouth, Mass.) chipped in with eight points.

The Bobcats next take on the University of Southern Maine in their home opener, Tuesday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m., following the women's game at 5:30 p.m. Both the men's and women's games can be followed via Live Stats and Video Webcast (Webcast note: Tuesday's broadcasts will not feature play-by-play announcing.)