Ellis	O'Keefe
Wirth	Wilson

LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates College men's basketball team held visiting Husson University to 27.6 percent shooting, including 17.9 percent in the first half, en route to a 58-47 non-conference victory Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

Eleven players entered the scoring column for the Bobcats (4-4), led by sophomore Brian Ellis (Braintree, Mass.) and junior Jimmy O'Keefe (Lexington, Mass.) with 10 apiece -- Ellis on 4-5 shooting, and O'Keefe on 5-8 shooting. Junior Sean Wirth (Barrington, R.I.) scored 8 points on 4-6 shooting to go with a game-high 10 rebounds, and junior Chris Wilson (Brewer, Maine) dished out 8 assists in the game. O'Keefe and sophomore Alex Gallant (Bangor, Maine) grabbed 6 rebounds apiece to help Bates to a 40-30 advantage on the boards.

Matt MacKenzie scored a game-high 13 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for the Eagles (1-6). Brock Bradford added 9 points and 3 assists.

The Eagles missed 13 of their first 14 shots, including their first nine from the field, though Bates was only able to turn that into an early 9-3 advantage. Husson clawed back to within three, at 15-12 with 6:35 remaining, but Bates finished the first half by outscoring Husson 15-2 in the final six minutes of the period for a 30-14 lead at intermission. The decisive run started with a steal by senior Ben Thayer (Gorham, Maine) leading to a jumper by Wirth, followed by a Thayer layup, a Gallant free throw, and a three-pointer by junior Marshall Hatch (Chicago, Ill.) made it 23-12 with 3:31 left. O'Keefe and Wilson added hoops before the period came to a close.

Husson shot 5-28 in the first half compared to 13-24 (54.2%) for Bates. The Bobcats finished the game shooting an even 50 percent (23-46).

Bates kept its lead in double digits throughout the second half, extending it as high as 19, but Husson remained aggressive and feisty with full-court pressure to the final seconds and closed the gap to 11 by finishing the game on a 13-5 run. Bradford and MacKenzie scored 9 points apiece in the second half, leading Husson to a 33-28 advantage in the period.

The Bobcats outscored the Eagles 40-24 in the paint and 27-15 in bench points.

Bates is off until traveling to the Naismith Invitational at Springfield College on Jan. 2-3. The Bobcats will take on Castleton State on Jan. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Husson next plays at the Catholic University Tournament, with a game against Clark University on Jan. 3.

STATS: Bates 58, Husson 47