STANDISH, Maine -- Junior captain Stephon Baxter drilled the game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds remaining, to lift the Bates men's basketball team to a 71-68 victory at Saint Joseph's College of Maine on Monday night, evening the Bobcats' record at 1-1.

Bates never led by more than three points on the night, and came back from a 10-point deficit (66-56) with 4:33 left in the game to win, ending the game with a 15-2 run. 

Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high 25 points on 10-15 shooting from the field, and is averaging 28.0 points per game in the young season. Baxter made 2-of-4 three-pointers and was 3-4 at the free-throw line. 

Sophomore Simon McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) scored 12 points off the bench, shooting 4-7 from long distance and hitting two big 3-pointers down the stretch, both assisted by Baxter. 

McCormick drilled a three from deep in the right corner with 32 seconds remaining to give Bates a 68-66 lead. The Monks then tied it up with 25 seconds left with a pair of free throws by Ashtyn Abbott, interrupting a run of 12 unanswered points by the Bobcats. Bates called timeout with 14 seconds to go and Baxter dribbled out the clock until the closing seconds, when he darted behind a screen at the top of the arc and launched the game-winning shot.

Sophomore forward Devin Harris (Bear, Del.) had 10 points and 10 rebounds off the bench for Bates, including a crucial tip-in off a Baxter miss with 1:08 remaining in the game.

First-year guard Taras Fesiienko (Everett, Wash.) made his second start and posted a game-high seven assists along with five points and eight rebounds. 

Bates shot 41.8 percent from the field, 33.3% from long distance, and just 35.7% from the free-throw line. Bates outrebounded St. Joe's 49-47 and cut its turnovers to 14, down from 24 in its season opener at Clark University. The Bobcats held the Monks to 33.3% shooting from the field, 23.5% from three, and outscored the Monks 31-14 in bench points. St. Joe's made only 1-18 of its 3-pointers in the second half.

St. Joe's (1-2) led by as many as 11 points in the first half and by a 40-35 count at intermission. 

Nicholas Curtis played all 40 minutes and led St. Joe's with 18 points. Griffin Foley scored 16 points, and Drew Shea had 14 points and 12 rebounds with a team-high four assists.

Bates stays on the road for its next game, Saturday 1pm at Babson.

From Monday: Baxter at the buzzer!

Junior captain Stephon Baxter knocks down a three with time winding down and @BatesCollegeMBB defeats Saint Joseph's College of Maine by a final score of 71-68.#d3basketball #d3hoops #gobates #mesports #d3plays @d3hoops @Sports_SJ pic.twitter.com/tAcjrETHbx

— BatesSports (@BatesSports) November 17, 2021