LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's basketball team had a seven-point lead with less than three minutes remaining but couldn't hold on as Tufts rallied to defeat the Bobcats 71-70 Saturday at Alumni Gym. 

With 2:26 remaining, sophomore Simon McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) drilled a three to put the Bobcats up 70-63. But Tufts big man Luke Rogers went to work, scoring four unanswered points to cut the Bobcat lead to three. With 54 seconds left, Dylan Thoerner sank a pair of free throws, cutting the Bates lead to one. The Bates offense couldn't get anything going and Thoerner made an acrobatic layup with seven seconds left, putting the Jumbos ahead by one. Bates had time for one last shot but a three from the corner was too strong and Tufts pulled out the victory over Bates.

Rogers had a monster game for the Jumbos (7-8, 2-1 NESCAC), tallying 32 points on 11-16 shooting and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes. Thoerner had a big game as well, finishing with 23 points on 10-15 shooting. Tufts shot 50.9 percent from the field on the night while Bates shot 36.8%. The Jumbos dominated points in the paint, with 42 compared to 24 for the Bobcats. 

Bates (6-7, 0-4 NESCAC) led by as much as eight points in the first half, going up 19-11 on a steal and layup by first-year Drew Sachs (Ann Arbor, Mich.) with 9:26 left. The Jumbos never led in the opening 20 minutes but cut the Bates lead to two on a Thoerner layup with 2:23 remaining. Junior Omar Sarr (Dakar, Senegal) finished the first half on a strong note, converting an old-fashioned three-point play and making another layup to put Bates up 31-26 at the intermission.

The Bobcats matched their biggest lead of the game when junior Jacob Iwowo (London, England) hit a three to start the second half. But the Jumbos went on an 8-0 run, tying the game at 34 on a Thoerner layup with 14:42 left in regulation.

Rogers drilled his first three of the season to put Tufts up 44-40 with 11:28 remaining. Bates first-year Jahmir Primer (Hempstead, N.Y.) answered with a three of his own and Bates went back up by one on an Iwowo layup with 10:01 on the clock. The teams traded buckets for a while, with the Jumbos opening up multiple four-point leads. Another layup from Thoerner put Tufts up 58-54 with 6:06 to go. 

The Bobcats answered in a big way, getting three-pointers from junior captain Stephon Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) and McCormick. Iwowo's layup with 5:03 left made the score 62-58 in favor of Bates.

Bates maintained the lead until the very end, as Tufts ended the game on an 8-0 run. 

Iwowo paced the Bobcats with 15 points on 6-12 shooting. Baxter finished the game with 13 points and Primer added 12. Senior Raheem Spence (Nantucket, Mass.) added 11 points and a team-high nine rebounds off the bench. 

Bates is back in action Friday when the Bobcats visit Colby for a 7pm tip.