LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's basketball team rallied from 16 points down in the second half but the Amherst College Mammoths dominated in overtime, defeating the Bobcats 75-62 Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gym. 

It's the second overtime loss for Bates (5-10, 0-3 NESCAC) in three NESCAC games. 

The Bobcats had a chance to win it in regulation, as they drew a foul with less than three seconds remaining. But a pair of missed free throws sent the game to OT. 

All the momentum seemed to be sucked out of Alumni Gym, as the Mammoths (6-9, 2-2 NESCAC) outscored Bates 15-2 in the extra session. 

Senior Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) had a remarkable second half, scoring 24 of his game-high 27 points to help the Bobcats get back in the game. 

A Ryker Vance layup with 14:52 remaining in regulation put the Mammoths up 38-22. But Baxter answered with a three-pointer and the Bobcats started to get hot from outside.

Down by 13 with 12:57 left, Baxter hit another three. Junior Simon McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) drew an offensive foul and then delivered on offense, knocking down a three of his own to trim the Amherst edge to 39-32.

The Mammoths pushed the lead back to 10 before first-year Peter Psyhogeos (Yarmouth, Maine) drilled a three with 11:22 to go, making the score 44-37. Another McCormick three cut the deficit to four and another Baxter three made the score 46-43 in favor of the visitors with 10:01 to go.

Baxter wasn't done, executing two perfect drives to the hoop, making layups high off the glass and putting Bates up 47-46. 

The Bobcats took their biggest lead of the game at 50-47 with 6:55 remaining on another Baxter layup. 

But Amherst's Mohammed Alausa answered with a three of his own, tying the game at 50.

Alausa had a remarkable game for Amherst, making all six of his three-point attempts for a team-high 19 points after having not hit a three all season entering the game.

Neither team led by more than two points down the stretch, with Psyhogeos putting Bates up 60-58 on a three-pointer with 1:46 left. Ryker Vance was able to tie the game at 60 thanks to a pair of free throws with 90 seconds remaining.

The Bobcats missed a golden opportunity after a traveling violation gave Bates the ball with 3.2 seconds to go and the game still tied. They were able to draw up an inbounds pass into the paint and a foul put Bates at the line for two potentially game-winning free throws. Unfortunately for the Bobcats, both free throws were off the mark and the game went to overtime.

Amherst went on a 10-0 run to start the extra session, putting the game away.

After being outscored 28-18 in the first half, Bates turned the tables in the second half, outscoring the visitors 42-32. Psyhogeos joined Baxter in double figures with a career-high 12 points on 4-6 shooting. 

Canin Reynolds and Noah Helmke joined Alausa in double figures for Amherst with 12 points apiece. Will Scherer grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds as the Mammoths dominated the glass, out-rebounding Bates 58-31.

The Bobcats look to bounce back Tuesday night when they host the University of Maine-Farmington at 7pm.