BRUNSWICK

Even though they may not have been necessarily anticipating it, the Bowdoin College men’s basketball team knew if the University of New England Nor’Easters pressed every time up the court, the Polar Bears were going to oblige and run.

Run was an understatement.

Bowdoin scored 64 second-half points to run away with a 120-93 victory over UNE Tuesday night at Morrell Gymnasium.

The 120 points broke the old mark for a single game of 117 set in 1994 against Western New England.

“They pressed us practically the whole game, so we just kept passing down the court in transition,” said Bowdoin’s Sam Grad.

The freshman finished with a game-high 24 points as the Polar Bears improved to 3-0 on the young season. Grad was also 4-of-4 from the free-throw line and tallied three blocks.

“We’re not typically a running team, but that’s what they gave us, they kind of forced that on us,” said Bowdoin coach Tim Gilbride. “Our big men got the scoring opportunities tonight because of playing back on that press.”

Six different players registered double-figures in the scoring for Bowdoin, including David Reynold’s 18 points.

“It was an interesting game to be part of. I had never played one like that before where it was just up and down the whole time,” said Reynolds. “We had to take advantage of that.”

UNE took the early lead behind a pair of 3-pointers and led by as many as seven in the first several minutes. That was short-lived, as the last time UNE led was 12-11 with 15 minutes remaining in the half.

From there, Bowdoin took advantage of its size underneath, out-rebounding the visitors 67-47, capitalizing on the 21-of-73 shooting from behind the arc for UNE and cruising the rest of the way.

After UNE cut the Bowdoin lead to 25-23 and regained possession with under 10 minutes left in the half, Bowdoin’s Jack Bors took a charge when Jackson McCoy attempted to drive the lane. The heads-up play by the junior fired Bowdoin up before the end of the half.

The home team closed out the half with a 16-5 run, building its lead to 56-44 at the break. Bowdoin shot 53- percent from the field, while the Nor’Easters managed just 34-percent, including 8- of-32 in 3-point shooting.

Still pressing to open the half, UNE found itself chasing the long, accurate passes down the court from Bowdoin’s Stephen Ferraro and Bors, setting up the big guys underneath.

“Our usual scorers did score tonight, and that was because of UNE’s plan to press us all night,” said Grad.

Leading 63-50, Bowdoin went on a 21-9 run, extending its lead to 84-59 with a little over 13-minutes to play. The Polar Bears continued running over the next few minutes, building a 100-68 with 9:14 remaining, the biggest lead of the night.

“They opened a lot of lanes for us with their press,” said Gilbride. “We had a lot of two-on-one and three-on-two break-away runs as a result, so we kept running.”

UNE continued to launch 3-point attempts, Daron Hoges Jr., connected on a pair in backto back possessions, but it wasn’t enough.

“I know we gave up 93 points, but again that was the nature of the game,” said Gilbride. “Overall I think our defense made the stops when they needed to when it was still close.”

Hoges finished with four 3- point baskets and 12 points. Jordan Bagshaw and Ryan Matthews each connected on a trio of treys in the losing effort. Matthews led UNE with 17 points. Bagshaw and Drew Muniz each chipped in nine points in the losing cause. The Nor’Easters fell to 1-3 on the young season.

Bors dumped in 16 points, including sinking four 3-pointers while dishing out eight assists. Hugh O’Neil and Ferraro added 15 points and 14 points, respectively for Bowdoin. O’Neil also hauled down 14 rebounds, while Reynolds added 11 boards.

“We did some things well tonight, and we did some things not so well,” said Gilbride. “Tonight was a unique game with the running, but it showed we can have different guys score on different nights.

“It was a good win for us.”

Bowdoin will host Babson on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Morrell Gymnasium.

Bowdoin 120, UNE 93

At Morrell Gymnasium

UNE	—	44	49	—	93
Bowdoin		— 56	64	—	120

UNE — Drew Patno 2-3-8, Matt Lorman 2-0-5, Matt Hobbs 0-0-0, Drew Muniz 3-0-9, Gavin Dibble 3-0-8, Tevin Francois 0-0-0, Jordan Bagshaw 3-0-9, Alex Kravchuk 2-0-5, Andrew Marcelino 2-1-6, Steven Celmins 2-0-4, Sean Walsh 2-0-5, Jackson McCoy 1-0-3, Ryan Matthews 6-2-17, Daron Hoges Jr. 4- 0-12, Jacob Hickey 0-0-0, Kyle Frank 1-0-2. Totals — 33-6-93. Bowdoin — Zavier Rucker 4-3-11, Jack Bors 6-0-16, Jack Simonds 3-0- 6, Liam Farley 1-2-4, Hugh O’Neil 6- 3-15, Stephen Ferraro 5-4-14, Blake Gordon 0-0-0, Cameron Withers 0-0- 0, Sam Grad 10-4-24, KJ Matte 1-0- 3, Drew Gagnon 2-1-5, David Reynolds 7-1-18, Charles DiPasquale 0-0-0, Andy Ward 1-2-4, Richard McAllister 0-0-0. Totals — 46-20- 120. 3-point field goals — (UNE) Patno, Lorman, Muniz 3, Dibble 2, Bagshaw 3, Kravchuk, Marcelino, Walsh, McCoy, Matthews 3, Hoges, Jr. 4; (B) Bors 4, Matte, Reynolds 3. Records — Bowdoin 3-0, UNE 1-3. Up next for the Polar Bears — Sunday at home against Babson, 2 p.m.