Senior guard Graham Safford had a huge hand in the Bates men's basketball team's season-opening 81-78 win over Nichols College on Saturday, coming within three assists of a triple-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to go with seven assists and three steals.
The following night, Bates faced the No. 23 nationally ranked host Beavers in the championship game of the Babson Invitational. It was in that game that Safford took ownership of this week's male Bobcat of the Week award -- not to mention the first NESCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week award of the 2014-15 season.
Safford (Hampden, Maine) poured in 21 points in the second half of Bates' 54-51 win over Babson, making 8-of-10 shots overall and 4-of-5 from beyond the three-point line, including the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in the game. The second-year captain and First Team All-Maine selection a year ago claimed tournament MVP honors after averaging 22.5 points on 57.7% shooting from the field to go with 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.5 steals per game. Junior Mike Boornazian (Portland, Conn.) also won all-tournament team honors, averaging 19.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.
Bates (2-0) next plays at Husson this Saturday at 4pm.
