Jeff Spellman scored 24 points and grabbed six rebounds in Bates' 79-68 loss at No. 4 nationally ranked Williams on Jan. 13, 2018. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- No. 4 nationally ranked Williams College went on a run late in the first half to pull away from a back-and-forth game and defeated the Bates College men's basketball team 79-68 Saturday afternoon.

Bates (8-8, 1-3 NESCAC) was outrebounded 39-30 and saw the host Ephs (12-3, 3-1) shoot .593 (16-27) from the field in the first half and .509 for the game. Williams also made 11-26 3-pointers (.423), countering a good outside shooting day for Bates (.412 on threes).

Bates sophomore guard Jeff Spellman (Boston, Mass.) scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 4-7 from long range, and added six rebounds and three assists on the day. Junior center Nick Lynch (Westford, Mass.) had 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, his fourth double-double this season, and sophomore Tom Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) scored 12 points for the Bobcats, making 4-of-9 shots from deep.

James Heskett scored 23 points on 8-12 shooting overall and 3-5 from deep to lead Williams. Bobby Casey added 19 points, hitting 5-8 on threes. Mike Greenman added 11 points and Cole Teal and Matthew Karpowicz pitched in with 10 points apiece. Karpowicz also grabbed 11 rebounds from off the bench.

The lead changed hands six times in the first 14 minutes, before a floater by Teal gave Williams the lead they would not relinquish at 28-27. Heskett followed a Bates miss with a 3-pointer, starting a 14-4 Williams run to finish the first half. Bates missed all five of its three-point attempts in the final six minutes, scoring on jumpers by Lynch and first-year James Mortimer (Sudbury, Mass.). Heskett's layup with four seconds remaining made it 40-31 at the half.

Greenman's three to start the second half gave Williams its first double-digit lead, and Bates could not get any closer than within 10 the rest of the way, as Casey embarked on a 3-pointer binge, hitting four between the 16:40 and 12:51 mark of the second half. Heskett also made one in that stretch as Casey's fourth three ballooned the lead to 27 points (66-39) with 12:14 left in the game.

Bates chipped 16 points out of the Williams lead over the remainder of the game, including a pair of threes by Coyne and junior Max Hummel (Glastonbury, Conn.) in the final minute.

Bates will host MASCAC leader Salem State (12-3) Monday at 7pm.