LEWISTON, Maine -- Bates College men's hoops nailed down its first NESCAC victory of the season in thrilling fashion Saturday as the Bobcats erased a 10-point, second-half deficit en route to a 67-63 defeat of Tufts University in front of a fired up Alumni Gymnasium capacity crowd.

The win not only marks the Bobcats' first conference triumph of the campaign, but represents Bates' first over the Jumbos since securing the third "W" of a three-game winning streak vs.Tufts back on Jan. 19, 2019 in Lewiston.

Bates opened the afternoon on a high note as the garnet and white jumped out to a healthy 12-4 advantage just 5:13 into the contest. The eight-point surplus represented the largest lead of the game for the Bobcats. 

An 11-2 run for Tufts immediately followed as the road team passed the Bobcats on the scoreboard, 15-14, with 10:57 remaining before the break. No less than eight different lead changes would transpire over the next 5:40 with the Jumbos holding a 24-23 edge at the 5:17 mark.

Tufts proceeded to close out the initial stanza on an 8-2 spurt to stroll into intermission massaging a 32-25 cushion.

Dylan Thoerner (Sr.-Irvine, Calif.) drained one of his two three-pointers of the day just 14 seconds into the second half to provide the Jumbos the largest lead for either squad at 35-25.

Still holding onto a 49-41 advantage after a Scott Gyimesi (Fy.-Fair Haven, N.J.) layup at 12:58, Bates made its move as the Bobcats scratched out a 14-5 run to tie the score at 54-54 with 7:48 left.

With the Jumbos inching back ahead 60-56 at 5:15, Bates unloaded its arsenal, firing off a mighty 11-3 deluge over the remaining time to secure the signature win.

A layup by Elliott Cravitz (Denver, Colo.) at 1:49 capped a 6-1 push by the home team, providing the Bobcats their first lead since 6:04 of the first half. The final minute-plus, hairy moments notwithstanding, belonged to Bates as the victors outscored their foe, 5-2, to close out the contest.

Cravitz enjoyed his best effort as a collegian as the first-year buried a career-high 22 points over 36 minutes, which included six of the Bobcats' seven three-pointers in the game. Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) never left the court for Bates as the senior recorded 18 points and four assists in his 40 minutes.

Devin Harris (Bear, Del.) continues to add to his personal highlight reel as the junior rattled the rim with a pair of thunderous slams on his way to 18 points. Harris also paced all players with eight rebounds (including six offensive boards) while contributing two rejections on the defensive end.

The aforementioned Thoerner topped Tufts (13-4, 2-2 NESCAC) with 18 points.

Bates (7-10, 1-3 NESCAC) takes to the road for its next action as the Bobcats pay a visit to #11 Middlebury Friday night at 7:00 p.m.