GORHAM, Maine.  –  Sophomore Tom Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Bates College Bobcats to a 55-46 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a non-conference men's basketball game Tuesday night at Hill Gymnasium.

With the win, Bates improves to 2-1 on the season.  Southern Maine drops its third straight to stand at 1-3.

On a tough shooting night for both teams, Coyne was 6-for-19 from the field for his game-high total.  Junior Nick Lynch (Westford, Mass./Lawrence Academy) added 10 points and five rebounds, while freshman James Mortimer (Sudbury, Mass./Noble and Greenough) chipped in with seven points off of the bench.

Southern Maine senior Donne Agossou (Auburn, Maine/Lewiston) scored a career-high nine points off of the bench to lead a balanced Husky attack, and grabbed seven rebounds.  Agossou was 4-for-8 from the field.  Junior Kevin Weisser (Windham, Maine) added eight points and a nine rebounds, while senior Bryon McMillian (Washington, DC/Takoma Academy) added seven points, eight rebounds and three steals. 

After a Coyne jumper gave Bates a 47-37 lead with 7:11 left in regulation, Southern Maine rallied to pull to within two points of the Bobcats on the strength of an 8-0 run.  McMillian, Weisser and Agossou scored all eight of the Huskies' points in the run, including a pair of back-to-back buckets in the paint from Agossou to make it 47-45 with 4:23 to play. Following a pair of squandered possessions on each side of the ball, Bates was able to surge ahead with seven unanswered points on a layup from Mortimer and a three from junior Eli Frater (Brooklyn, N.Y./Kimball Union) for a 52-45 lead with 2:45 to play.  With baskets at a premium for both teams, USM was unable to get any closer than six points the rest of the way, and Bates finished the game 3-of-4 from the free throw line for the final.

Bates shot 31.9 percent (22-for-69) from the field in the game, and made just 3-of-21 from three-point terrority.  USM shot 29.5 percent (18-for-61) with six of its baskets coming from three-point range.   

Southern Maine returns to action on Sunday (7:30 p.m.) at St. Joseph's College.

–cac–