ATLANTA -- Bates men's basketball bounced back in a big way Tuesday afternoon, knocking off No. 25 Maryville College (Tennessee), 82-79, to close out play at the Emory (University) Holiday Classic at the Woodruff PE Center.
The win marked Bates' first victory over a nationally-ranked opponent since Feb. 15, 2020, when the Bobcats earned a
90-87 buzzer-beater win at No. 10 Middlebury. The garnet and white improves to 10-1 with the triumph a day after having its season-opening winning streak snapped at nine-straight with a Monday loss to the host-Eagles.
Bates set the tone early, jumping out to a 40-22 lead after a
Brady Coyne three-ball with 2:57 remaining in the first half. Maryville struggled to find rhythm from the field in the initial stanza (7-for-31, 23%), while Bates connected on 13 of 34 attempts from the floor, including seven threes, en route to a 40-28 advantage at intermission.
Maryville (9-4) came out of the break firing, scoring 51 second-half points and going up by three (65-62) with 8:19 remaining. Bates responded quickly as the Bobcats ignited a 16-4 surge, capped by an
Elliott Cravitz bucket, to build a 78-69 cushion at the 2:07 mark.
The Scots refused to go away, trimming the margin to three in the final minute (0:36) on a Jackson Garner jumper. Coyne made a pair at the line with eight seconds left to to put the Bobcats up by five (81-76). Javi Roswell then hit a three with three seconds remaining to put Maryville down by a pair (81-79) before
Peter Psyhogeos sealed it at the stripe with two seconds to go, hitting one of two free-throw attempts, as Bates held on for the three-point win.
Babacar Pouye finished with 23 points and tied his season and career high with 16 rebounds (including seven on the offensive glass). The junior also added six assists and a pair of rejections. Cravitz added 19 points, knocking down five three-pointers, while Coyne collected 11 points of his own on the day.
Three Maryville players recorded double-digit efforts with Chase Morgan pacing the Scots with 23 points in 29 minutes.
The Bobcats now return to campus to host Colby College this Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in what will be the non-conference portion of the annual home-and-home series between Bates and the Mules.
