BIDDEFORD — After falling behind by one inside the last two minutes, Bates College made four free throws in the final 90 seconds to secure a 71-68 men’s basketball result against the University of New England on Monday evening (Nov. 28) at the Harold Alfond Forum.

Winners of three straight, the Bobcats (3-1) saw their eight-point cushion (62-54) disappear when UNE’s Daron Hoges, Jr. (West Orange, N.J.) hit a three-pointer at the 1:51 mark to put the Nor’easters (1-4) in front, 68-67. Marcus Delpeche (Wilmington, Del.) and Max Hummel (Glastonbury, Conn.) each converted a pair at the charity stripe to provide the difference.

Hummel paced the Bates effort with 22 points. Malcolm Delpeche (Wilmington, Del.) contributed a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while tallying four blocks and three steals. Marcus Delpeche also posted a double-double of 10 points and 14 boards, helping the visitors establish a 42-33 cushion on the glass. Jerome Darling (Hartford, Conn.) added 10 points, as well — all in the 1st half.

For UNE, Jean-Luc Parker (Georgetown, Texas) had 12 in the opening frame and finished with 16 points. Drew Coveney (Londonderry, N.H.) notched 15 points, eight assists, and six rebounds. Zachary Kupferberg (Chicago, Ill.) went for nine points, and Sam Thomas (Bedford, N.H.) threw down a trio of dunks to end with eight.

The Nor’easters out-shot the Bobcats from the field, 45 percent to 36 percent, however Bates dropped in 13 more free throws (22-9) on the night.

During the initial stanza, there were eight lead-changes and six ties. Bates strung together an 11-0 run to take the largest lead of the half at 20-13, only to then find itself trailing by six (30-24) four minutes later. Darling canned three freebies with 0.8 on the clock before intermission to give the Bobcats a 38-37 edge.

UNE raced out of the break with a 13-3 spurt to assume a 50-41 advantage. Five different players scored in the stretch.

Hummel and Tom Coyne (Falmouth, Maine) accounted for 11 points as Bates returned with a 21-4 span prior to the home stretch.

The Bobcats head to face No. 2 Babson College on Wednesday. The Nor’easters open up Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) action the same night at Wentworth Institute of Technology.

The UNE women’s team also took on Bates at home, falling by a tight score of 60-57.

The Nor’easters fall to 3-2 on the year and will face Wentworth on the road Wednesday.