FARMINGTON, Maine -- Junior captain Stephon Baxter scored a game-high 31 points and Jon Furbush '05 became the winningest coach in Bates men's basketball history as the Bobcats defeated the University of Maine at Farmington 87-81 Monday night.

Furbush earned his 159th career win, breaking the record previously held by Bobcat great George Wigton. In his 13th year at the helm of the program, Furbush has led the team to eight appearances in the NESCAC tournament, three appearances in the NESCAC semifinals, and most notably, the 2015 NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16.

The Beavers (11-6) led the Bobcats (9-9) by one point with 3:15 remaining in regulation after Drew Storey converted a four-point play. But Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) answered with a pair of free throws, putting Bates up 78-77 with 3:04 left.

A steal and a layup by Baxter extended the Bobcat edge to three before UMF's Jack Kane answered with a layup of his own, making the score 80-79 in favor of Bates with 1:12 on the clock.

Baxter countered with another layup on an assist from sophomore Simon McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) with 54 seconds left. Then the Bobcats forced a pair of UMF turnovers and made their free throws down the stretch to pull away and win by six.

Baxter shot 10-29 from the floor and 4-11 from three-point range. He made seven of eight free throws, grabbed four rebounds, dished out four assists and recorded three steals on the night. First-year Jahmir Primer (Hempstead, N.Y.) added 20 points on 7-15 shooting. He grabbed five rebounds, dished out three assists and recorded a steal.

Sophomore Stephen Ward (Boston) notched his second double-double of the season, scoring 11 points on 5-8 shooting and securing 12 rebounds. Senior Raheem Spence (Nantucket, Mass.) was a force on the glass, tallying a game-high 14 rebounds and chipping in seven points and two steals as well. McCormick finished with eight points, six assists, and four steals. Sophomore Trace Gotham (Medfield, Mass.) added eight points on 4-5 shooting off the bench.

Terion Moss played all 40 minutes and led the Beavers with 28 points on 10-21 shooting. Jack Kane finished with a double-double, scoring 23 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

The Bobcats trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before rallying to trim the deficit to two by halftime. 

Down 19-7 with 13:29 left in the opening half, the Bobcats got back-to-back jumpers from Gotham and Baxter to get within eight. The Beavers still led by eight with 9:04 remaining at 26-18 before the Bobcats went on a 9-0 run, going up 27-26 on a Gotham layup with 6:47 left. 

The Beavers went back up by two on a Zach Brown three. Then Primer answered with a jumper and the game stood tied at 29 with 6:24 left in the half.

It was pretty even the rest of the way but Moss hit a pair of free throws late to put UMF up 45-43 at the break.

Bates got off to a slow start in the second half and the Bobcats found themselves down 60-52 after a Moss layup with 15:21 remaining. But Primer, Baxter and Ward helped kick start a 10-0 run for the visitors, and a McCormick three gave them a 62-60 edge with 13:20 to go. 

The Bobcats went up by as many as seven at 71-64 on a Baxter three with 8:56 on the clock before UMF rallied over the next five-plus minutes, briefly taking a one-point edge before the Bobcats closed the door to pick up their ninth win of the season and their second over the Beavers.

Statistically, the game was remarkably even. Bates shot 41 percent and UMF shot 40.8% from the floor. Bates recorded 48 rebounds and UMF recorded 44 rebounds. The Bobcats turned it over 17 times and the Beavers turned it over 14 times. Bates had 14 second chance points and UMF had 10. UMF had 36 points in the paint and Bates had 32. Each team made nine three-pointers on the night. 

Bates men's basketball is back in action this Saturday when the Bobcats host Middlebury in NESCAC action at 3pm.