MIDDLEBURY, Vt. -- Bates senior
Nick Gilpin made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to lift the Bates men's basketball team into a 90-87 victory at No. 10 nationally ranked Middlebury on Saturday, clinching a place in next weekend's NESCAC playoffs as a result.
Bates (12-12, 4-6 NESCAC) clinched either the seventh or eighth seed in the NESCAC tournament, depending on the results of Sunday's game between Bowdoin and Wesleyan.
If Bowdoin defeats Wesleyan on Sunday, Bates will become the eighth seed in the tournament and play at No. 1 Tufts next Saturday in the NESCAC quarterfinals. If Bowdoin loses, Bates will assume the seventh seed and play at No. 2 Colby in the quarterfinals.
Bates inbounded the ball with 11 seconds to go and the game tied at 87-87. Senior Jeff Spellman's (Boston, Mass.) 16-footer missed and Middlebury rebounded with eight seconds to go. Middlebury point guard Jack Farrell pushed the ball up the floor but lost control at the three-point line as he ran into both Gilpin (Hampden, Maine) and Bates first-year Stephon Baxter (Worcester, Mass.). Baxter scooped the ball and threw ahead to a streaking Gilpin, who calmly pulled up outside the arc on the right wing and drilled a long three, despite having Middlebury forward Matt Folger's hand in his face.
The shot gave Gilpin 28 points, 13 more than his previous career high. He made 10-of-14 shots from the field, including a career-high 6-of-8 from three-point territory, and added nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Spellman scored 24 points for Bates, shooting 10-of-16 from the field and 2-2 from three. First-year forward Omar Sarr (Dakar, Senegal) added 17 points and a career-high 19 rebounds.
Bates jumped out to a 10-4 lead early before Middlebury went on a 10-0 run to go up 14-10 at the 14:54 mark. Tommy Eastman hit a two and a three during the early spurt. Neither team led by more than four throughout the remainder of the half, until a late layup from junior James Mortimer (Sudbury, Mass.) put the Bobcats ahead 40-35 at the break.
The game remained tight in the second session, with the Panthers moving ahead 70-65 on a layup from Eastman with 8:00 left on the clock. Folger blocked a shot and converted in transition to put the hosts ahead 81-76 at the 4:28 mark. The Bobcats responded with six straight points, taking an 82-81 lead with 3:20 left to play.
Eastman led the Panthers with a career-high 28 points, while Folger recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds to go with four blocks. Max Bosco finished with 13 points and Farrell netted a dozen.
The game included 14 ties and 15 lead changes, as Middlebury shot 54 percent, with Bates connecting on 46.6 percent of its shots. The Bobcats also made 14-17 (.824) at the free-throw line and outrebounded the Panthers 39-33.
The Panthers (20-4, 6-4) enter the NESCAC quarterfinals as the fifth seed and will visit fourth-seeded Trinity next Saturday at 3pm.
