Mike Boornazian scored 16 points with seven rebounds in Bates' 70-53 loss at Amherst. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

AMHERST, Mass. -- A strong first half and a well-balanced attack by No. 25 nationally ranked Amherst lifted the Jeffs to a 70-53 NESCAC win over the Bates men's basketball team Saturday afternoon in LeFrak Gymnasium.

With the win, the Jeffs improved to 11-4 overall on the year and 2-2 in the NESCAC. The Bobcats lost their second straight game to drop to 11-4 on the year and 1-2 in league play.

David George posted his sixth double-double of the year as he scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds, including four offensive. He also blocked two shots. Eric Conklin went a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor for a season-high 12 points, and Jayde Dawson added 11. Dawson and Connor Green led the team with four assists each.

The Bobcats were led by junior Mike Boornazian (Portland, Conn.) with a game-high 16 points on 7-of-18 shooting. He also grabbed seven rebounds. Senior Graham Safford (Hampden, Maine) added 11 points and a team-high two assists, and sophomore Marcus Delpeche (Wilmington, Del.) pulled in 10 boards and registered eight points.

Marcus Delpeche hit a layup on the first possession of the game to give the visitors a 2-0 lead, but a 3-pointer by Dawson seconds later put Amherst up by one and they never looked back. A layup by George and another three by Nabatoff capped off an 8-0 run within a minute as the Jeffs took an 8-2 lead at the 18:19 mark.

Minutes later, the Jeffs went on another run to take a double-digit lead. Ahead 13-8, the Purple & White rattled off six consecutive points to go ahead by 11, as Nabatoff finished the run with another three.

With 8:43 remaining in the half, Safford hit one from behind the arc to cut the deficit to nine, but Amherst scored 10 unanswered to take its largest of the game. After a layup by Conklin at the 4:39 mark, the home team went ahead by 19. They eventually entered the break up 45-30.

The Bobcats wouldn't back down easily, however. Despite trailing by double-digits for most of the second half, a jumper by Safford with 5:51 to play in regulation cut the deficit to eight. Bates had outscored the Jeffs 21-14 up until that point, but a layup by Dawson seconds later put Amherst back up by double digits as the Bobcats' hopes for a comeback were derailed.

In the final 5:51 of action, Amherst outscored Bates 11-2 en route to the 70-53 win.

As a team, the Jeffs shot 25-of-54 (46.3%) from the floor, 7-of-23 (30.4%) from downtown and 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the charity stripe. 

The Bobcats went 22-of-64 (34.4%) from the floor, including just 2-of-19 (10.5%) from behind the arc and 7-of-14 (50.0%) from the free-throw line. The Jeffs edged Bates in rebounding, 40-39, and dished out 14 team assists compared to just six by the Bobcats.

Bates will next play host to Tufts in another NESCAC matchup on Saturday, Jan. 24 at 3pm.