AMHERST, Mass. -- Senior captain Simon McCormick scored a team-high 11 points but the Bates men's basketball team struggled to find the bottom of the net in a 59-36 loss at Amherst Saturday afternoon.

Bates (2-13, 0-3 NESCAC) fell behind 6-0 early and didn't score until first-year Chiwer Mayen (Lewiston, Maine) threw down a dunk with 14:45 left in the first half. A jumper from McCormick (Whitefield, Maine) cut the Amherst lead to 13-9 with 7:23 left in the half, but the Mammoths (10-7, 2-2 NESCAC) went on an 8-0 run to go up by 12 at 21-9 on a Will Scherer layup with 3:46 on the clock. 

The Mammoths dominated the rest of the game, leading by as many as 28 points in the second half. 

Amherst's Bobby Sommers led all scorers with 13 points on 5-8 shooting in the low-scoring contest. Scherer finished with 10 points and a game-high 20 rebounds.

The 59 points allowed by the Bobcats is the fewest they've surrendered in a NESCAC loss since the 2013-14 season. The 36 points scored by the Bobcats is the fewest in one NESCAC game in program history. The NESCAC first became a playing conference in the 2000-01 season.

Bates shot just 22.4% from the floor on the afternoon. McCormick was a bright spot, shooting 3-5 from three-point range and grabbing five rebounds. The Mammoths shot 35.5% from the floor and dominated points in the paint, 32-8. 

The Bobcats look to bounce back Tuesday when they visit the University of Maine-Farmington for a non-conference game. Tip is set for 7pm.