LEWISTON, Maine -- Junior Babacar Pouye recorded a double-double and four Bobcats finished in double figures scoring as the Bates men's basketball team defeated UMass Dartmouth 88-82 Sunday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. 

Pouye (Carpinteria, Calif.) matched his career-high with 26 points on 9-13 shooting. He grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, dished out five assists, blocked two shots, and recorded a steal. Senior Brady Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) poured in 22 points, grabbed six rebounds, and also finished with five assists. Meanwhile, sophomore Keenan Sparks (York, Maine) was lights out at the line, making all eight of his free throws on his way to 14 points on 3-6 shooting, six rebounds, and three assists. First-year Jamari Robinson (Holbrook, Mass.) came off the bench to tally 10 points and five rebounds.

The game featured 18 ties and 17 lead changes. 

Bates (4-0) trailed 82-80 with 1:32 remaining after UMass Dartmouth's Danny Reyes hit a jumper in the paint. But Pouye found Coyne in the left wing and the sharp-shooter connected on his fifth made three-pointer of the afternoon to put the Bobcats up 83-82 with 1:11 left. 

Reyes tried to answer on the other end but good defense by sophomore Sean O'Leary (Franklin, Mass.) forced a miss in the paint and Pouye got fouled while grabbing the rebound. He sank two free throws, extending the lead to 85-82 with 50 seconds left. UMass Dartmouth (4-2) still had time for a comeback as Strada Joseph drove to the hoop for the Corsairs. Robinson stuck with him and forced another miss. Pouye secured the rebound and UMass Dartmouth fouled Robinson to put the pressure on the rookie.

Robinson had no issues, draining a pair of free throws to make it a two-possession game at 87-82 with 17 seconds to go. 

Reyes tried a three-pointer and came up empty. Robinson snagged the rebound with five seconds to go and split a pair of free throws to provide the final margin of victory for the Bobcats.

The Bobcats led by as many as eight points in the first half, going up 10-2 on a Pouye jumper with 16:33 left until the intermission. 

UMass Dartmouth chipped away at the early Bates advantage, and the visitors went up 23-22 on a Reyes layup with 8:15 remaining in the first half. Their biggest lead proved to be four points, with a Ryan Flauto layup putting the Corsairs ahead 28-24 with 7:18 to go in the opening stanza. 

Senior Chiwer Mayen (Jackson, Miss.) answered with a personal 4-0 run, tying the game at 28 on back-to-back layups. The teams traded buckets from there, with the Corsairs pulling ahead at 35-32 before Pouye drained a three to tie the game again with 2:42 on the clock.

Another three from Pouye and a Sparks layup put Bates ahead 42-39. But Joseph hit a three from the corner to tie the game at 42 going into halftime.

The second half was as close as a game can get, with neither team going up by more than four points until the very end of the contest. 

The Corsairs went up 65-62 with 9:45 left on a Flauto layup. Mayen answered with a thunderous dunk, Flauto recorded another bucket, and Coyne drilled a three to tie things up at 67 with 8:14 left in regulation.

Flauto continued his excellent work for the visitors, making a pair of free throws to put them back up by two. Then Pouye delivered a two-hand jam of his own, tying the game at 69.

Bates and UMass Dartmouth continued to trade blows, with Coyne hitting a three to put the Bobcats ahead 78-75 with 4:07 remaining. The Corsairs answered with a 5-0 run, keyed by a jumper from Joseph and a three from Nic Boyd, going up 80-78 on Bates with 2:25 left. A pair of free throws from Pouye tied it at 80 with 1:46 remaining, setting up the exciting finish 

Flauto and Reyes paced the visitors with 20 points apiece. Isaiah Makor added 11 points and eight rebounds. Boyd played all 40 minutes and tallied 10 points, five rebounds, and a game-high six assists. 

The Bobcats look to remain unbeaten when they host the University of Southern Maine this Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.