The Bobcats finish the season with a 12-13 overall record. The Mules improve to 23-2 overall and advance to the NESCAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday, Feb. 29. Today's meeting was the third this season for Bates and Colby. The Mules came out on top in all three contests.

Bates had five players reach double figures in scoring with senior Jeff Spellman (Boston, Mass.) leading the way with 23 points. He added four steals, three assists and four rebounds. Junior James Mortimer (Sudbury, Mass.) and first-year Omar Sarr (Dakar, Senegal) each chipped in 15 points. Sarr recorded game-highs of 15 rebounds and four blocks. Mortimer grabbed seven boards. First-year Stephon Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) logged 12 points and two assists, and first-year Jacob Iwowo (London, England) tallied 13 points and five rebounds.

Will King produced a game-high 32 points for Colby. He grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out five assists. Noah Tyson registered 22 points and a team-high 13 rebounds. He added two blocks. Matt Hanna had 12 points. Alex Dorion and Wallace Tucker each tallied 11 points. Ty Williams corralled nine rebounds.

Colby took a 7-2 lead in just under the first four minutes. Bates responded with 11 straight points to take a 13-7 lead. Sarr scored five points in the run. The Bobcats led by as many as 14 after a three-pointer by Spellman with 4:45 left in the first half. The Mules battled back to get within four at 36-32 at the break.

Bates built its lead back up to 10 multiple times in the second half, leading 58-48 after a Baxter layup with 9:01 to go. Colby fought back again, getting within one after a three by Tyson and two free throws by Dorion with 3:04 left in regulation. A jumper by senior Tom Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) and a layup from Spellman put the Bobcats up 66-61 with 1:02 to go. A layup by King got Colby back within three with 48 seconds left. Spellman stepped up to the line and made two free throws, but a Wallace layup got the Mules within three once again. With 24 seconds left in regulation, Dorian knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game up at 68-68. Spellman attempted a three-pointer at the buzzer, but was off target and the game went to overtime.

A Hanna layup and a three from King gave Colby a 73-68 lead with 3:34 to go in the first OT. Mortimer made two free throws, followed by a layup and two free throws by Spellman knotting the game at 74 with 1:07 to go. Sarr knocked down two free throws to put Bates up by two with 36 seconds on the clock, but Hanna hit a layup with seven seconds remaining to send the game to the second overtime tied up at 76-76.

Bates led by three with 1:16 left in the second OT after an Iwowo layup. Both teams traded free throws and Bates led 88-85 with 18 seconds to go. This time King made the game-tying shot, a three pointer with six seconds remaining to tie things up for the Mules once again and require a third overtime.

Colby started OT number three with a three-pointer from Tyson. Coyne connected on two free throws to get Bates within one at 91-90. Back-to-back layups by King put the Mules ahead 95-90 with 2:46 to go. Baxter put Bates within three, but King struck again to give Colby a 97-92 advantage with 1:21 on the clock. Iwowo made one of two free throws, but Alec McGovern scored two for the Mules on the next possession to keep them ahead 99-93 with 38 seconds left. Gilpin made one of two free throws for Bates. Tyson connected on two free throws, and McGovern made one of two for what proved to be the final score.

The Bobcats shot 42.2 percent from the field and 20 percent from three. The Mules finished at 38 percent from the floor and 28.3 percent from beyond the arc.