LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's basketball team has taken on 11 teams at home this season and still beaten every one, after the Bobcats' 70-68 win over Williams College on Friday night, a NESCAC victory played with deafening volume down the stretch coming from the near-capacity crowd.
Bates (16-4, 5-2 NESCAC) snapped a nine-game skid against Williams (12-8, 3-4 NESCAC) with the win and remain in a tie for second place in the conference with Tufts (11-9, 5-2).
Graham Safford had 21 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, while Mike Boornazian and Malcolm Delpeche added 13 points apiece. Malcolm Delpeche also contributed six rebounds and four blocks, while twin brother Marcus Delpeche pitched in with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds.
The Bobcats outrebounded the Ephs 43-26 and outscored Williams in bench points by an 11-1 margin. Bates also built sizable advantages in points in the paint (34-16) and second-chance points (12-6).
Hayden Rooke-Ley shot 9-for-13 from the field, including 6-of-8 from beyond the three-point line, to score a game-high 28 points for Williams. Daniel Wohl scored 21 points with 11 rebounds, and Ryan Kilcullen added 10 points. Mike Greenman had seven assists.
In a game featuring seven ties and 10 lead changes, the Ephs had a 60-57 lead with 5:42 to go in the game. But Bates ran off seven unanswered points over the next 2:26 to assume a 64-60 lead the Bobcats were able to preserve over the final three minutes. Adam Philpott started the late run by finding Malcolm Delpeche open underneath for a layup. Then, following a Williams offensive foul, Philpott took advantage of an open lane to drive for a solo layup and a 61-60 Bates lead with 4:48 to go.
Malcolm Delpeche snuffed a layup attempt by Kilcullen and Safford gathered the loose ball before getting fouled by Kilcullen. Safford made one free throw for a 62-60 lead, and with 3:14 to go in the game, Philpott sent Rooke-Ley to the line with a foul outside the three-point arc. Rooke-Ley, however, missed the front end of the one-and-one. Safford alertly pushed the ball up against a softened Williams defense, penetrated and dished to Marcus Delpeche for a thunderous dunk and a 64-60 lead, prompting a Williams timeout.
Coming out of its timeout, Williams was greeted by the loudest roar from an Alumni Gym crowd heard in years. The Ephs struggled to find a shot and settled for a deep three attempt by Wohl, which was deflected by Boornazian and corralled by Safford.
Rooke-Ley, however, drew the Ephs within a point, drilling a three on a Kilcullen assist after Boornazian's missed layup. Safford responded with a quick drive for a layup and Bates called timeout with 1:45 left in the game, hoding a 66-63 lead.
Kilcullen missed a three out of the timeout, and at the other end, Safford was fouled away from the basket, but missed the front end of a one-and-one. Wohl rebounded the miss and drove solo for a layup at the other end to close it to 66-65 with 51 seconds to go.
With a 14-second difference between the shot clock and the game clock, Safford whittled the game clock down to 22 seconds before missing a three. Boornazian controlled the weak-side rebound, however, and passed out to Safford, who was quickly fouled by Williams.
This time Safford sank both free throws for a 68-65 lead with 14.5 seconds to go, and Williams called timeout. With about seven seconds left on the clock, a well-defended Wohl attempted a double-clutch three-pointer at the top of the arc and missed, with Marcus Delpeche winning the mad scramble for the rebound and getting fouled. Delpeche sank both of his foul shots with 3.9 seconds showing on the clock, putting Bates ahead 70-65 to ice the win. Aronowitz drilled a buzzer-beating three to draw Williams within two points in the final count.
Safford calmly sank a three with two seconds left in the first half, sending the teams into the locker rooms with a 36-36 tie. Wohl was everywhere for Williams in the opening period, with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Rooke-Ley had 12 points. Safford and Boornazian had 10 points apiece at the break, while Malcolm Delpeche had six points, three rebounds and two blocks and Billy Selmon had four points, three rebounds and four steals. Bates outrebounded Williams 22-13 in the period, while Williams had the edge at the free-throw line, making 9-of-10 while Bates was 4-for-4.
Bates plays host to Hamilton College on Saturday at 3pm in its final home game of the regular season; the game will be Senior Day for Class of 2015 team members Safford, Selmon, Philpott and Cam Kaubris. Williams plays at Tufts Saturday at 2pm.