Bowdoin College's Liam Farley scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds, and the Polar Bears posted a 72-68 NESCAC win against the nationally ranked No. 16 Hamilton College Continentals at Bowdoin's Morrell Gymnasium on Friday night.

Hamilton (16-2, 3-2 NESCAC) lost for just the second time this season despite holding a 38-33 lead at the break and a 43-35 cushion early in the second half. The Continentals shot 36.5 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers.

Peter Hoffmann '19 paced Hamilton with 24 points on 10 of 17 shooting and added eight rebounds. Joe Pucci '18 nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 12 points. Pucci is shooting 46.3 percent (31-67) from beyond the arc. Kena Gilmour '20 chipped in 11 points, nine boards and three steals. Andrew Groll '19 grabbed nine rebounds and Jack Dwyer '18 was credited with three steals.

Farley was 4 of 6 from long range and helped lead a Polar Bear team that shot 40.9 percent (9-22) from 3-point land as a group. Jack Simonds also dropped in four 3-pointers and ended up with 18 points and seven assists. Hugh O'Neil was 6 of 8 from the floor and scored 12 points. Bowdoin (14-4, 3-2) has won four in a row.

A 3-pointer by Pucci gave the Continentals their largest lead of eight points at 43-35 with 18:33 left in the second half. Bowdoin responded with a 15-2 run that put the Polar Bears in the lead for good.

O'Neil started the spurt with a layup, Farley followed with a trifecta, and two straight baskets in the paint by David Reynolds gave Bowdoin a 44-43 edge with 16:05 remaining. Hoffmann put Hamilton back up by a point with a layup but Jack Bors' 3-pointer on the next possession gave the Polar Bears the lead for good at 47-45 with 14:26 to go. A Simonds 3-pointer ended the run and made it 50-45 with 13:58 left.

Bowdoin never led by more than seven down the stretch -- and that was at 70-63 on two free throws by Stephen Ferraro with 12 seconds remaining -- as the Continentals refused to go away quietly. Hamilton pulled within one point on three occasions in the final 12 minutes but could never get over the hump. A free throw by Gilmour made it 50-49 with 11:53 to go and a layup by Hoffmann cut the Continentals' deficit to one again at 52-51 with 8:33 left. Finally, a Gilmour 3-pointer pulled Hamilton within 64-63 with 1:55 remaining.

After Ferraro's free throws, Tim Doyle '19 made a pair for the Continentals with seven seconds to go. Simonds was fouled and missed the front end of a one-and-one with five seconds left. Hoffmann grabbed the rebound, came down the floor and drilled a long-range 3-pointer that pulled Hamilton within 70-68 with three ticks remaining. Simonds was fouled again and this time he clinched the victory by making both free throws for the final margin.

Neither team led by more than seven points during a tightly contested first half. The Polar Bears held an 18-11 advantage after a Simonds 3-pointer with 12:42 to go, but the Continentals countered with a 13-3 run and led the rest of the half. Michael Grassey '19 kicked things off with a 3-pointer and Groll followed with a layup. Farley interrupted the Hamilton run with a basket from long range but Vince Conn '20 and Pucci drained shots from deep, and Grassey canned a pair of shots at the charity stripe that made it 24-21 in the Continentals' favor with 8:39 left. Hoffmann beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper and Hamilton took a 38-33 lead into the break.

The Continentals take on Colby College for more NESCAC action in Maine on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 3 p.m.