MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Bates College men's basketball rallied from 14 points down in the final four minutes of regulation but fell to Wesleyan University in overtime, 76-70, on Friday night inside Silloway Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (10-8, 1-4 NESCAC) used an 18-4 run at the end of the second half to send the game into overtime tied at 62-62, but the Cardinals (8-10, 2-3 NESCAC) closed the extra session with a 12-3 spurt for the victory.

The Cardinals held a 58-44 lead with 4:30 remaining in regulation after capping a 12-2 run. From there the Bobcats worked their way back into the game pulling within 62-56 with just over two minutes left in the half.

Sophomore Mike Boornazian (Portland, Conn.) then hit three free throws after inducing a foul on a 3-point attempt, and junior Adam Philpott (Gloucester, Mass.) sank a 3-pointer from the left corner with 51 seconds left to tie the contest. On the final possession of regulation, a jump shot from junior Graham Safford (Hampden, Maine) bounced off the rim.

Bates took a 67-64 lead early in overtime after a triple from Boornazian, but Wesleyan controlled the rest of the game, making 10 free throws inside of the last three minutes. The visitors gained two opportunities to tie the game inside of the final 30 seconds but could not capitalize.

BJ Davis paced Wesleyan with 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting while Rashid Epps tallied 16 points and nine rebounds. Joe Edmunds contributed 12 points, sinking 7-of-8 free throws.

Boornazian led the Bobcats with 22 points, making all nine of his foul shots. Safford posted 13 points, and first-year Malcolm Delpeche (Wilmington, Del.) chipped in nine rebounds, seven points, and four blocks.

Trailing 35-33 at the start of the second half, the hosts opened the second stanza on a 13-3 run to take a 46-38 lead at the 10:18 mark. Senior Luke Matarazzo (Shelton, Conn.) hit a 3-pointer – Bates' first field goal of the half after missing its first 14 shots – to cut the deficit to 46-42 before the Cardinals used their 12-2 run to capture their 58-44 lead with Bates' comeback following.

In the first half, point followed counterpoint as neither team could gain a lead larger than four points in the opening period. When a Delpeche dunk gave Bates a 10-7 lead, Harry Rafferty hit a 3-pointer to bring the game back to a tie. When Boornazian connected on a trey to put the Bobcats up 22-19, Wesleyan responded with a hoop on the next possession to cut it to 22-21.

The Bobcats took their 35-33 edge into the locker room after a back-and forth final 92 seconds in the period. After junior Billy Selmon (Atlanta, Ga.) stuck a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 32-31 lead, Joseph Kuo sent home a dunk to put Wesleyan back up, 33-32. Boornazian then converted from behind the arc with three seconds left in the half to close the stanza's scoring.

With the loss, Bates head coach Jon Furbush '05 now holds a 3-3 record against Wesleyan head coach Joe Reilly, his former mentor, who coached Bates for 11 seasons from 1997-98 to 2007-08.

Next, Bates plays at Connecticut College tomorrow at 4 p.m. while Wesleyan hosts Tufts University tomorrow at 4 p.m.