AMHERST, Mass. -- Junior captain Stephon Baxter scored a game-high 25 points but the Amherst Mammoths used a late 18-2 run to defeat the Bates men's basketball team 63-58 Friday night. 

Bates (5-5, 0-2 NESCAC) led by as many as 11 points in the second half before the Mammoths (10-3, 2-1 NESCAC) rallied for the win. 

Grant Robinson tallied 23 points and 4 assists to lead the Mammoths.

The Bobcats opened the game with the first two baskets for a 4-0 lead but the Mammoths came back to take a 12-8 lead on a three from Canin Reynolds. The Bobcats answered with a 9-0 run to take a five-point lead and stayed on top for the rest of the first, going into halftime with a 27-23 lead.

Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) scored seven unanswered points for the Bobcats to open the second half and boost Bates to an 11-point lead.

The Bates lead was at 11 once again with seven minutes to go and the Mammoths took over from there. Robinson contributed half the points in a 10-0 run that brought the Mammoths back within one. After a Baxter free throw, Robinson scored again to tie the game at 57-57. On the next possession, Robinson was fouled and hit both free throws to give the Mammoths their first lead of the second half with just under two minutes to play.

The Amherst defense held the Bobcats to only a single free throw in the final two minutes and the Mammoths hit 4-of-6 free throws down the stretch to secure the come-from-behind victory. The Bobcats were held without a field goal for the final seven minutes of the game.

Baxter 8-19 from the floor on his way to 25 points. Meanwhile, first-year Jahmir Primer (Hempstead, N.Y.) added 12 points and junior center Omar Sarr (Dakar, Senegal) tallied seven points and 14 rebounds.

Garrett Day scored 11 points and Dan Schlakman added 10 points to join Robinson in double figures for Amherst.

Michael Schretter and Noah Helmke each grabbed eight rebounds as the Mammoths held a 47-36 advantage on the boards.

The Bobcats held a slight edge in shooting, going 35 percent (22-of-63) from the field while the Mammoths shot 34 percent (20-of-59). Amherst was slightly better from beyond the arc. Both sides took 25 three-point shots but Amherst made 7 while Bates hit 5.

Bates is back in action Saturday when the Bobcats visit Hamilton (7-7, 1-2 NESCAC) for a pivotal game that gets underway at 3pm.