CHICAGO -- Bates College men's basketball, participating in the 2024 University of Chicago Midway Classic, made its season debut Saturday with a 70-53 loss to the host-Maroons in the Gerald Ratner Athletics Center. The contest marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

UChicago (1-0), also taking the floor for the first time, never trailed en route to the season-opening triumph. The Maroons' offense came out ablaze as the home team owned an initial 8-0 lead just 2:17 into the contest. Ahead 17-12 at the 10:27 mark of the first half, UChicago unleashed a 14-4 run to increase its surplus to 15 (31-16) with 1:54 to go before the break.

After a Ben Chasin (Jr.-Greenwich, Conn.) three-pointer made the score 42-28 Maroons at 15:59 in the second, the Bobcats proceeded to rattle off a mighty 15-4 surge (capped by a Brady Coyne three-pointer) to slice its deficit to just three points (46-43) with 11:37 left.

Unfortunately for the Bobcats, the game's momentum made an immediate about-face as UChicago unloaded for a crushing 13-0 stretch to take an insurmountable lead of 59-43 with just under six minutes (5:59) remaining in regulation. The Maroons' advantage would inflate to a game-high 20 points as Phillip Lawrence's (So.-New York, N.Y.) successful jumper made it 70-50 UChicago with 1:12 left on the clock.

The Maroons turned the ball over four more times than its guest, 14-10. However, it would be UChicago that would take full advantage of Bates' miscues as the victors netted 21 points off Bobcat errors (vs. only eight points for the garnet and white).

Luke Smith (Richmond, Va.) paced UChicago with a perfect shooting performance as the sophomore went six-for-six from the field, while sinking all three free-throw attempts, for a team-high 15 points in 16 minutes. Daniel Cochran (Fy.-Brentwood, Tenn.) also nailed 100% of his shot attempts, going five-for-five with a three-pointer, to end the day with 11 points.

Thomas Kurowski (Sr.-Niles, Mich.) finished just short of a double-double with his 13 points and nine boards.

Marc Begin II, the 2023-24 NESCAC Rookie of the Year, picked up exactly where he left off as the now-sophomore topped all scorers with an even 20 points. Begin, who contributed five performances of 20+ points a year ago for the Bobcats, also dished a team-best four assists and recorded three steals in Saturday's effort.

Babacar Pouye, also enjoying a successful start to his sophomore campaign, poured in 16 points to complement his game-high four blocks.

Bates (0-1) will now take on Ohio Wesleyan University Sunday at 3 p.m. (2 p.m. CST) in the tournament finale. The Bishops (1-1) fell to Transylvania University, 82-74, in the day's other contest.