BRUNSWICK

The Bowdoin College men’s basketball team closed the game on a 15-8 run to pull away from Colby in a 76- 67 victory on Saturday afternoon at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears improved to 4-2 with the non-conference win, while the Mules dropped to 4-3. The teams will play their New England Small College Athletic Conference league contest on Jan. 28 in Waterville.

Bowdoin built an early 15- 6 lead thanks to 3-pointers from Neil Fuller and Liam Farley and pushed its advantage to as many as 13 points in the opening half before the Mules clawed back. Colby closed the opening half on a 13-4 surge, capped by a Maximilian Steiner trey before the break that closed the gap to 37-33 at intermission.

The Mules continued to rally early in the second half, trimming the lead to a single point on a couple of occasions before a running layup by Ronan Schwarz gave them a 46-45 edge with 11 minutes to go.

The teams traded buckets over the next three minutes and found themselves tied at 53 with 7:02 remaining. Bowdoin rolled off a quick 7-2 spurt to regain the lead, keyed by 3-pointers from Blake Gordon and Jack Bors, but Colby was able to stay close thanks to a healthy advantage from the free-throw line. The Mules hit 10 free throws in a five-minute stretch to stay within shouting distance before Bowdoin’s decisive run.

With the Polar Bears holding a slim 63-60 edge with 3:27 to go, Farley nailed his third trey to push the lead to six and, after a Colby turnover, a driving lay-in by Simonds made it 68-60 with under three minutes to play.

After an Ethan Schlager free throw cut the lead to 68- 61, Bowdoin got back-to-back shots from Simonds and Hugh O’Neil to open up an insurmountable 72-61 edge with under two minutes to go.

Simonds finished with a team-high 21 points while also grabbing five rebounds in the win. David Reynolds pitched in 14 off the bench, while Farley ended with 13. Schwarz also netted 21 for Colby and grabbed six boards. Schlager also saw double figures with 11 for the Mules.

Bowdoin returns to action at Bates on Wednesday evening.

Women’s basketball

Bowdoin remained unbeaten with a 60-38 victory at Colby on Saturday afternoon.

The Polar Bears, ranked 14th in the latest WBCA Division III poll, improved to 5-0 on the season. Colby fell to 3-3 with the setback. The teams will play their conference matchup in Brunswick on Jan. 28.

The Polar Bears were in command from the beginning, sprinting to a 12-2 lead after four minutes and never trailing in the contest. Bowdoin shot 51.7-percent from the field in the opening half and carried a 40-16 advantage into the break.

Bowdoin pushed its lead to as many as 32 points in the second half on its way to their fifth consecutive 20- plus point victory.

Bowdoin forced 27 Colby turnovers and stifled the Mules, holding the hosts to just 28-percent shooting for the game. No player saw double figures for either team, but Bowdoin had a dozen players score, including a team-best nine points from Lydia Caputi as well as eight apiece from Kate Kerrigan, Lauren Petit and Cordelia Stewart. Marle Curle had six points, nine assists and three steals in the victory for Bowdoin, which held a 27-13 edge in bench scoring and 26-8 advantage in points off turnovers.

Bowdoin visits UMaine- Farmington on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Swimming

Bowdoin hosted the two-day Maine State Meet in Greason Pool with UMaine- Orono, Bates and Colby in attendance.

In the men’s meet, Bates took first overall with 1,030 total points. The Polar Bears were second with 814, followed by UMaine (728.5) and Colby (370.5).

Karl Sarier captured three individual first-place finishes and appeared on a pair of top-finishing relays. Sarier took victories in the 200 IM (1:55.91) and 400 IM (4:12.95). The sophomore also collected a first-place finish in the 100 free (46.25). Daniel Williams turned in two top finishes over the weekend. The sophomore had a 4:46.48 in the 500 freestyle and 16:18.51 in the 1,650. Gabriel Siwady made it a one-two finish in the 1,650 with a 16:53.59. Julian Abaldo turned in a 53.09 in the 100 butterfly to tally first-place points for the Polar Bears. Drew Macdonald and Jean Babtiste-Andrew finished one-two in the 200 butterfly with times of 1:54.66 and 1:58.92, respectively.

Will Hutchinson joined Abaldo, Sarier and Macdonald for a first place 400-free relay (3:33.33). Mitchell Ryan won both diving events, scoring 271.75 points in the 1-meter and 263.15 in the 3-meter.

It was a much tighter race on the women’s side, as Bates took first overall with 976.5. UMaine tallied a second place finish with 873 points, with Bowdoin (792.5) and Colby (460) rounding out the scoring.

Sophia Walker turned in a top result in the 400 IM (4:46.77) and the 50 free (24.80) for Bowdoin. Audrey Aitelli touched the wall one-tenth of a second later in the 50 free (24.81) to make it top two Polar Bear finish. The Bowdoin divers swept the podium in the 1-meter event. Thea Kelsey (229.30), Rebecca Stern (225.60) and Christine Anderson (224.80) went 1-3, respectively. Anderson stepped up for a top finish in the 3-meter (243.05) and was joined by Kelsey, who finished second (231.30).

The men and women combined for a mixed 400 medley relay victory. Marshall Lowery, Mike Netto, Alys Fromson Ho and Sarier put together a 3:44.34 finish.

The Polar Bears return to the water during their winter training trip in Coral Springs, Fla., Jan. 3.