CLINTON, N.Y. – Hamilton College's
Garret Keyhani '26 scored a team-high 15 points and
Matthew Rideout '27 and
David Melson '29 added 14 apiece in the Continentals' 74-69 NESCAC win over the Bates College Bobcats on Hamilton's Coach Tom Murphy Court inside Margaret Bundy Scott Field House on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 11.
Season Update
- Hamilton (4-10 overall) played its first NESCAC game of the season. The Continentals improved to 3-3 at home.
- Bates (11-3, 0-2 NESCAC) fell at Amherst College by a score of 71-50 in its conference opener on Jan. 9.
How It Happened
- The Bobcats recorded all of their made 3s in the first half, shooting 5-of-13 from deep in the first 20 minutes. Hamilton jumped out to a 7-0 lead with a layup and a 3-pointer by Rideout sandwiched around a jumper in the paint by Jalen Reese '27.
- Bates' Peter Psyhogeos knocked down his second 3-pointer of the first half with 14:15 remaining and tied the score at 12-12.
- Bates' Keenan Sparks drove to the basket in transition and scored a layup that gave the Bobcats their first lead at 16-15 with 11:40 left.
- Bates built a 22-17 lead with 9:03 left following a 10-2 run that was capped by a fadeaway jumper in the paint by Babacar Pouye.
- Hamilton tied the score at 27-27 with 2:46 left following a 5-0 burst via a putback by Omar Kulenovic '28 and a wing 3-pointer by Jack Stowell '27.
- Bates scored the next four points before Reese made two consecutive baskets for the Continentals and tied the score at 31-31 with 20 seconds left.
- Pouye scored the final basket of the half with three seconds to go and gave the visitors a 33-31 advantage at the intermission.
- After shooting a combined six free throws in the first half, the two sides got to the line more often during the final 20 minutes. Hamilton shot 13-for-16 at the line in the second half, compared to 10-for-14 for Bates. Hamilton shot 13-of-26 (50%) from the field, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range, in the second half.
- Keyhani and Nate Raub '27 knocked down 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions early in the second half and gave Hamilton a 42-39 lead with 17:29 remaining.
- The first 10 minutes of the second half featured three ties and five lead changes. The Continentals regained the lead at 48-47 following a jumper by Melson with 11:34 to go and stayed in front for the remainder of the contest.
- Hamilton grabbed its largest lead of seven points for the fifth time at 71-64 with 1:56 remaining following two made free throws by Melson.
- Pouye went on a personal 5-0 run on three free throws and a layup and cut Bates' deficit to 71-69 with 27 seconds remaining.
- Melson was fouled and sank one free throw with 22 seconds left. Hamilton got a stop at the other end and Rideout iced the game by draining two free throws with four seconds to go.
Notes
- Keyhani scored in double figures for the fourth time in five games played this season.
- Rideout scored in double figures for the fifth straight game and the 12th time this season. He ranks seventh in the NESCAC in scoring with 15.3 points per game.
- Reese totaled nine points, a team-high seven rebounds, a season high-tying five assists and two blocks. He is second in the NESCAC with 1.6 blocks per game and fourth with 9.0 rebounds per contest.
- Raub and Stowell chipped in seven points apiece. Raub added five rebounds and three assists, while Stowell registered a game-high three steals.
- Hamilton shot a season-best 77.8 percent (14-of-18) at the line. The 74 points was the Continentals' third-highest total in a game this season.
- Hamilton has won its last five games against Bates and seven of the last eight.
- Pouye led all scorers with 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-for-6 at the line. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
- Psyhogeos finished with 17 points and Sparks provided 11 points and five assists.
Next Game
Hamilton continues NESCAC play at Wesleyan University (11-4, 2-0) on Friday, Jan. 16.
