LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates men's basketball team rallied from 14 points down but came up just short at the buzzer in a 78-76 loss to Husson Wednesday night at Alumni Gym. 

The Bobcats (0-3) had a chance to tie or take the lead with the clock ticking towards zero. Sophomore Babacar Pouye (Carpinteria, Calif.) had a couple of chances at the rim on the final possession, but the Eagles (2-2) made enough contact without fouling to disrupt his shots, as the visitors held on for the victory.

Bates fell behind 70-56 with 6:01 left in regulation when Husson's Riles Neff made a pair of free throws. Then the comeback began, starting with sophomore Marc Begin II (Carlsbad, Calif.) draining a three-pointer with 5:26 left. Then junior Peter Psyhogeos (Yarmouth, Maine) recorded a steal and Begin II sank a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to nine. A Psyhogeos three-pointer and another bucket from Begin II made the score 70-66 with 3:33 remaining.

The teams traded buckets down the stretch, and the Bobcats found themselves down by seven with 1:22 to go after Andre McCauley split a pair of free throws. Pouye had the answer for Bates, converting a bucket in the lane and drawing a foul in the process. Pouye made the free throw to finish off the old-fashioned three-point play. The Bobcats got a stop on the defensive end and Pouye was able to put back a miss by Psyhogeos to get Bates to within two at 75-73 with 36 seconds left.

McCauley made two free throws on the other end, putting Husson up four. But Pouye delivered again, draining a three-pointer from the left wing with 17 seconds remaining, cutting the deficit to one. Neff split a pair of free throws, giving Bates 14 seconds to try to tie the game or take the lead. They set up a play for Pouye in the post, but the Husson defense collapsed on him, preventing Pouye from sending the game to overtime.

Bates got off to slow starts in both the first and second half on Wednesday. The Eagles went up by a score of 32-19 with 5:57 left in the first half before the Bobcats came roaring back to go up 44-43 at halftime on a three-pointer from Begin II. 

It proved to be the only lead of the night for the Bobcats, as Husson got on the board first in the second half on a jumper by McCauley. The Eagles built their lead back up to 14 before the Bobcats rallied down the stretch. 

Husson's Jeremy Moronta led all scorers with 27 points on 8-14 shooting and nine rebounds. Four Eagles finished in double figures. Begin II paced the Bobcats with 20 points on 7-17 shooting. Pouye finished with 18 points on 8-13 shooting. He came on strong in the second half, scoring 16 of his 18 points to key the comeback attempt. Junior Brady Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) added 14 points on 3-9 shooting and Psyhogeos finished with 13 points on 5-9 shooting. 

The Eagles had a big advantage at the foul line, as the visitors made 25-35 free throws. The Bobcats were strong from the line, making 12-15, but the 13-point difference was a significant one Bates could not overcome.

Bates is back in action this Saturday at 3 p.m. when the Bobcats host the University of Maine, Presque Isle at Alumni Gym.