LEWISTON, ME - Bates College (7-8) utilized a 22-2 run late in the first half to get past Saint Joseph's (10-4, 5-2 GNAC), 94-85, in a non-conference men's basketball game on Wednesday evening. Chris Petzy '12 (Kensington, NH) netted a career-high 25 points off an 11-17 shooting effort in the losing bid.

Zach O'Brien '12 (Schenectady, NY) poured in 22 and shot 4-7 from beyond the arc and Rashon Jones '11 (Bridgeport, CT) chipped in with 12 points, including two rim-rattling dunks,  for St. Joe's. Tyler Kelley '11 (Saco, ME) scored 11 and was 5-5 from the FT line in the SJC loss.

Nick Schmiemann led the Bobcats with 21 points on 9-12 shooting, including 3-5 behind the arc. Brian Ellis added 19 points with eight rebounds, and Alex Gallant contributed a season-high 16 points on 8-10 shooting from the field. Marshall Hatch scored 11 points, while Mark Brust added 10 points and seven assists. And sophomore forward John Squires filled the stat sheet with career highs of 10 rebounds and nine assists.

Bates led by as many as eight points early in the first half at 16-8, but St. Joe's came back and grabbed a 25-22 lead with 8:36 left in the half.  The in-state rivals traded leads on nine occasions in the opening stanza, with the last swap occurring when Hatch made a layup at the 6:04 mark, putting the Bobcats up 30-29.  

The bucket ignited a 22-2 run over the final six minutes of the period, as the hosts headed to the locker room with a 50-31 advantage. Hatch followed the lead-changing layup with a deep three, and Schmiemann knocked down a pull-up three at the top of the arc for a 36-29 lead with 4:51 left. Ellis scored eight points over the final 3:11 of the period. St. Joe's committed five turnovers during the decisive run, and Bates outscored St. Joe's 17-2 in points off of turnovers during the span.

St. Joe's attempted to chip away at the Bates lead throughout the second half, with modest success. The visitors cut the lead from 74-54 to 78-66 with 5:22 left with five points from Petzy and a three by O'Brien. Bates staved off the late charge by hitting three shots in a row: a three and a layup by Schimemann, followed by a three-pointer by Kyle Philbrook that made it 86-71 with 3:50 left in the game. A pair of threes in the final 70 seconds by O'Brien helped cut the deficit to 94-84 with 30 seconds left, before a final free throw by Ellis finished out the scoring at 95-84.

Both teams shot over 50 percent from the field in both halves of the game, with the visiting Monks finishing at 60 percent overall (33-55) and the Bobcats shooting 52.8 percent (38-72). Bates was more accurate from long distance, hitting 9-16 (.563) compared to St. Joe's (5-16, .313). Freebies proved to be an issue for the Monks (61.9%, 13-21), while the Bobcats completed 83.3% (10-12) of their attempts from the line for the night.

Bates hosts Bowdoin Friday night at 8:00 PM in a NESCAC matchup; St. Joe's next plays at Mount Ida in a GNAC contest on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS PROVIDED BY BATES COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION

Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Bates College
01/20/10 7:30 p.m. at Lewiston, Maine (Alumni Gym)
At Lewiston, Maine (Alumni Gym)
BATES COLLEGE 95, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 84
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (10-4)
Christopher Petzy 11-17 2-3 25; Zach O'Brien 8-12 2-3 22; Rashon Jones 5-6
2-4 12; Tyler Kelley 3-9 5-5 11; Raymond Eatmon 4-6 0-3 8; Julio Vazquez 1-1
2-3 4; Thomas Ray 1-2 0-0 2; Anthony Savino 0-2 0-0 0; Spenser Adams 0-0 0-0
0. Totals 33-55 13-21 84.
BATES COLLEGE (7-8)
Nick Schmiemann 9-12 0-0 21; Brian Ellis 8-17 3-4 19; Alex Gallant 8-10 0-0
16; Marshall Hatch 4-7 0-0 11; Mark Brust 4-11 0-0 10; Kyle Philbrook 2-4
2-2 7; Jimmy O'Keefe 2-3 0-0 4; John Squires 1-6 2-2 4; Thomas Deegan 0-2
3-4 3; Neil Creahan 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-72 10-12 95.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............   31   53  -   84
Bates College.................   50   45  -   95
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 5-16 (Zach O'Brien 4-7; Christopher Petzy
1-6; Tyler Kelley 0-2; Rashon Jones 0-1), Bates College 9-16 (Nick
Schmiemann 3-5; Marshall Hatch 3-5; Mark Brust 2-3; Kyle Philbrook 1-3).
Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Bates College-None. Rebounds--St.
Joseph's (Me.) 25 (Tyler Kelley 5; Raymond Eatmon 5), Bates College 36 (John
Squires 10). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 17 (Julio Vazquez 4), Bates College
33 (John Squires 9). Total fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 13, Bates College 17.
Technical fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Bates College-None. A-610