Scott Place '09, shown defending Bowdoin guard Mike Hauser, scored nine points, including the game-winning three-pointer.

LEWISTON, Maine -- Senior Scott Place's (Bridgewater, Mass.) three-pointer ripped through the net with four seconds remaining, lifting the Bates College men's basketball team to a 57-54 NESCAC victory over Bowdoin College before a packed and boisterous Alumni Gymnasium Friday night.

Marshall Hatch '10 shot 2-2 from three-point territory, including this shot in the first half.

Bowdoin's Paul Sellew took an open three-point attempt near the top of the arc in the last second that bounced away, sealing the win for Bates.

Bowdoin dropped to 10-5 and 0-2 in conference play, while the host Bobcats rose to 9-7, 1-2 NESCAC.

Three-pointers were the difference in a game that was as close as could be. The Bobcats shot 40.4 percent from the field but hit 9 of 13 (69.2%) behind the arc, while the Polar Bears went 2-11 (18.2%)on threes in a 44.9% shooting night overall.

Sophomore Brian Ellis (Braintree, Mass.) scored a game-high 15 points for Bates, while junior Chris Wilson (Brewer, Maine) added 10 points and 7 assists. Place scored nine points, all on threes, as he shot 3-4 from deep.

Mark Phillips scored 12 points with a game-high 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots for Bowdoin. Will Hanley also scored 12 and Tim Lane added 10. The Polar Bears outscored the Bobcats 28-10 in the paint.

The game featured 10 lead changes and 12 ties, the final one being at 54-54 with 39 seconds remaining, after Mike Hauser stripped junior Marshall Hatch (Chicago, Ill.) near midcourt and fed Hanley for a layup. Hanley was fouled by senior Ben Thayer (Gorham, Maine) on the shot, but he missed the free throw and sophomore Alex Gallant (Bangor, Maine) snared the rebound, allowing Bates to wind the clock down to under 5 seconds before shooting. Wilson kicked out to Place on the right wing as the shot clock neared expiration, and the senior stepped into an open shot and caught all net.

Bowdoin had erased a 47-41 Bates lead, the largest for either team in the entire game, with a 9-2 run, taking the lead back at 48-47 with a pair of free throws by Hanley and retaking it at 50-49 on a jumper by Kyle Jackson. But Gallant (team-high 6 rebounds) answered with a baseline jumper, and Hatch, who was 2-2 behind the arc, followed his own steal with a three-pointer from NBA range for a 54-50 lead with 3:32 left. A pair of free throws by Lane narrowed the deficit to 54-52, and Hanley's layup with 39 seconds left tied the game at 54.

The first half ended knotted at 27-27, with Phillips pacing the Polar Bears with 10 points, 4 rebounds and all three of his blocks in the period, while junior Jimmy O'Keefe's (Lexington, Mass.) 6 points and 4 rebounds were a key supplement to Ellis's 8 points and Wilson's 7. Neither team achieved a lead higher than 4 points over the first 30 minutes of the game.

Bates will host Colby tomorrow at 3 p.m., while Bowdoin will play at Tufts.

STATS: Bates 57, Bowdoin 54

Neil Creahan '10 drives and dishes to Jimmy O'Keefe for a layup in the first half.