STANDISH, Maine -- First-year guard Marc Begin II came within one point of the Bates College men's basketball single-game scoring record Tuesday as he netted a career-high 47 points in the Bobcats' non-conference road contest at Saint Joseph's College.

Begin (Jacksonville, Fla.), hitting on 17 of his 33 attempts from the field (along with a 10-for-13 showing from the charity stripe) in his 38 minutes, accounted for more than half of Bates' offensive output on the night as the garnet and white ultimately fell to the host-Monks, 84-80. 

The effort just missed tying the Bobcats' program record of 48 points, set by Matt Garvey '97 on Jan. 18, 1997 vs. Hamilton. 

In a wild back-and-forth showdown, the longtime rivals battled through 12 lead changes and nine stalemates in the first outing of the new year for both squads.

With the Monks (5-8) owning an early 7-6 advantage at the 16:39 mark of the initial half, Bates proceeded to go on a 25-11 tear to go ahead by 13 (31-18) with 10:59 remaining before intermission. A Pitia Donato lay-up capped a 22-12 response by the home team to slice the Monks' deficit to just three points (43-40) with 0:38 left on the clock.

Begin connected on the first of two free-throw efforts with 13 seconds to go before the break to put the Bobcats back ahead by four (44-40) going into the locker room, and provide the rookie 26 points over the first 20:00 of play.

The Bobcats, doing all they could to keep a hold of its lead, pushed their surplus to a second-half high of nine points on two occasions, the second coming when Begin buried a jumper to keep Bates ahead, 53-44, 2:31 into the stanza.

St. Joe's promptly turned up the heat on its guest as the Monks broke open a 19-7 surge to take a three-point lead of 63-60, concluded by two free throws from Julian Llopiz with 10:10 remaining.

A furious finish was now in the works as the final 10+ minutes of regulation would witness seven ties and seven lead changes.

Begin, carrying the Bobcats on his back, poured in the final eight points of the night for Bates, the last two of which snapped a 78-78 knotting to put the visitors up by a pair with 1:29 left.

The Monks would have the last word, however, as St. Joseph's responded with six unanswered points to seal the victory.

Begin has now netted 85 points over his last two outings, dropping a previous career-high 38 in the Bobcats' 99-92 overtime home win vs. Colby in non-conference play back on Dec. 9.

Sophomore Peter Psyhogeos (Yarmouth, Maine) would be runner-up in the Bates' box score as the sophomore collected eight points in his 24 minutes. Senior Stephen Ward (Boston) grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for the 'Cats.

Four Monks contributed double-digit scoring efforts for the victors, including 23 points for Wani Donato over 25 minutes of play. Teagan Hynes authored a double-double consisting of 10 points and 10 assists.

Bates (2-9) now prepares to open NESCAC action this Sunday afternoon as the Bobcats welcome Connecticut College to Alumni Gym for a 1:00 p.m. tilt.