Men's Basketball Falls to Bowdoin, 87-67

BRUNSWICK, Maine -- Lucas Hausman scored a game-high 35 points to lead the Bowdoin College men's basketball team to an 87-67 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Tuesday evening at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears improve to 7-3 on the season with their fourth straight win, while the Bears fall to 3-8.

Hausman connected on 13 of 22 field goal attempts including 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Matt Palecki added 14 points and nine rebounds for Bowdoin while Jake Donnelly dished out a team-best seven assists.

Joseph Carty led three Bridgewater State players in double figures with 18 points to go along with seven boards. Ryan Carney totaled 14 points in just 13 minutes off the bench, including four three-pointers, while Rocky DeAndrade chipped in 10 points for the Bears.

Tied at 11 apiece in the early going, a 9-0 run courtesy of three consecutive Hausman three-pointers, gave Bowdoin the lead for good. Bridgewater State closed to within six points on three occasions in the first half and made it an eight-point game at halftime, 40-32, thanks to a DeAndrade running layup with 30 seconds remaining in the opening half.

After BSU's Michael Soares cut the lead to six points again just one minute into the second half, Bowdoin replied with a 10-0 run, sparked by five points each from Hausman and Neil Fuller, to push the lead to 16 points, 50-34, with 16:40 to go.

Matt Palecki nailed a three-pointer with 14:51 remaining to spark another 10-0 Polar Bear run that put the contest out of reach. Bowdoin shot 65% from the field in the second half to push the lead to as many as 25 points.

Bowdoin finished at 55% (35-63) shooting for the game compared to 39% (34-61) for Bridgewater State. The Polar Bears held a 44-28 edge in rebounding as well as a 16-7 advantage in second-chance points. The hosts also outscored the Bears in the paint by a 40-24 margin.

Bridgewater State will host UMass-Boston on Thursday night at 5:30 p.m. Bowdoin opens NESCAC play Friday at Tufts for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off.