STATS: Bates 91, Endicott 53

Rob Stockwell '07 narrowly missed getting his fourth double-double in as many games, but had game highs of 24 points and eight rebounds.

Bryan Wholey '08 scored 21 points for the second straight game, knocking down 3-of-4 three-pointers and 6-of-7 free throws.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates College exploded in the second half to outscore Endicott College 53-20 in a 91-53 win in a non-league men's basketball game Monday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (4-0) outrebounded the Gulls (1-3) 44-17 and shot 52.3 percent from the field overall, including 55 percent from three-point land, while avenging a 53-52 defeat of a year ago to the three-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference champions.

Senior Rob Stockwell (Temple, N.H.) scored a game-high 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 3-for-5 from three-point range. Stockwell added a game-high eight rebounds. Junior Bryan Wholey (Marshfield, Mass.) added 21 points, three assists and two steals.

Senior Mike Sullivan (Marshfield, Mass.) led Endicott with an efficient 17 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 7-of-8 at the line.

The Gulls shot 14-for-27 (51.9%) in the first half to nearly keep pace with the Bobcats, who shot 14-for-26 (53.8%) and took a 38-33 lead into halftime. But Endicott struggled to convert only six field goals on 19 attempts in the second half, while Bates shot 20-of-39, due in great part to 16 second-half offensive rebounds.

Sophomore Ross Stewart (Palm Harbor, Fla.) added nine points for Endicott, which will host MIT on Thursday. Senior Nemanja Marinkovic (Belgrade, Serbia) had team highs of four rebounds and three assists to go with four points.

Twelve players scored for the Bobcats, including notable contributions from senior Sam Taylor (Redwood City, Calif.), who had seven points and six rebounds, senior Zak Ray (Bangor, Maine), who had five points, a game-high four assists, four rebounds and three steals, first-year Chris Wilson (Brewer, Maine), who scored eight points, and senior John Lattimer (Atlanta, Ga.), who had four points and three steals in 12 minutes of action.

Endicott had the early advantage. The Gulls capped a 5-0 run with a 3-pointer by Stewart to go up 22-16 at the 7:34 mark of the first half. A pair of jumpers by Stockwell and a three by Ray, which capitalized on Taylor's block of a Todd Burton (Lynn, Mass.) layup attempt, evened the game at 23. Endicott took its last lead of the game at 29-27 on a jumper by Sullivan with 4:13 left in the half. A three by Stockwell put Bates back ahead, and a pair of threes by Bates junior Pat Halloran (Plymouth, N.H.) and two free throws by senior Damon McGinn (Thetford, Vt.) gave the Bobcats a seven-point lead before the half.

Marinkovic missed a layup to start the second half, and Wholey capitalized with a layup, a steal and a free throw for a 41-33 lead. Taylor missed a jumper after a turnover by Gary Corbett (Danbury, Conn.), but Bates got the offensive rebound and Ray found Wholey open for another three, and as Endicott called a timeout, Bates owned a quick 44-33 lead less than a minute and a half into the second half.

Rather than let the Gulls climb back into the game, the Bobcats continued to pad their lead, extending their second half-opening run to 24-5 in building a 62-38 lead before a deep three by first-year Graham Whitelaw (Kennebunk, Maine) settled the Gulls down with 12:48 to play. Ray had four assists in Bates' big run, while Stockwell had 10 points and Wholey had eight.

Stockwell's 24 points moved him past Tim Colby '71 into 13th place on Bates' all-time scoring list, with 1,194 career points.

Bates is ranked No. 21 in the latest D3Hoops.com men's basketball Top 25 poll, released Monday night. The Bobcats will play at Colby in a non-league matchup Wednesday night at 7 p.m.