GORHAM — John Swords scored 25 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead the Bowdoin College men’s basketball team to a 67-56 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies Tuesday night at Hill Gymnasium.

With the win, Bowdoin is off to its best start in program history and stands at 5-0. The Huskies fell to 4-3 with the loss.

The win also marked head coach Tim Gilbride’s 400th career victory in 29 seasons with the Polar Bears. Gilbride is just the second active NESCAC coach to have 400 victories to his name and is the 37th active D-III coach to reach the plateau. He owns a 400-290 overall record as coach of the Polar Bears.

Swords was nearly unstoppable in the paint, connecting on 12-of-13 shots and hauling down nine offensive rebounds. Andrew Madlinger and Keegan Pieri each scored 10 points.

USM’s Tyler Penney led the Huskies with 17 points on 8- for-12 shooting. Cole Libby added 14 points, five rebounds, three assists and three steals in a solid all-around game. James Odneal tossed in 10 points, and had six rebounds and four assists.

Trailing by 11, 40-29, with 17:11 left to play, USM pulled to within a possession of the Polar Bears with a 9-0 run. A trey from Libby kick-started the Huskies’ push, and was followed by a layup from Penney.

Bowdoin countered with a run of its own with seven straight points, including back-to-back layups from Swords to hold a 47-38 lead with 9:29 on the clock. The Huskies again rallied to claw their way back to within a possession with a 6-0 run to trail 47-44, but the Polar Bears put the game away with a 10-2 run of their own. Swords started and closed the run with offensive rebounds and the putback for a 57-46 Bowdoin lead with 4:05 to play.

Bowdoin made six of eight free throws in the final 1:30 of action to close out the win.

Bowdoin returns to action on Friday at home against rival Bates.

Women’s basketball

Bowdoin held off a late charge to take a 62-56 win over the University of Southern Maine at Hill Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears remained unbeaten at 5-0, while the Huskies fell to 4-2.

Bowdoin was led by 16 points from Kirsten Prue, who nailed four 3-pointers in the victory. Megan Phelps tossed in 12 points, including eight from the free-throw line, while Shannon Brady scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

The Huskies were led by a dozen points each from Erin McNamara and Rebecca Knight.

After falling behind 2-0, the Polar Bears used a 14-2 run, capped by a Prue trifecta, to take a 14-4 lead midway through the opening period. Brady scored eight of her points in the first half as the Polar Bears carried a 25-18 lead into the break despite hitting just 34 percent of their shots.

USM clawed back early in the second half. An 8-0 Husky run, sparked by 3-pointers from Taylor Flood and McNamara, eventually tied the contest at 34-34 when Knight buried a jumper with 12:28 to go. But, Selena Lorrey replied with a 3-pointer for Bowdoin to regain the lead. Phelps scored six straight points for Bowdoin late in the half and a clutch trey from Prue with 6:02 remaining gave the visitors some breathing room at 50-43.

The Huskies made another late push, drawing to 51-50 with 3:29 to go. Freshman Marle Curle answered for Bowdoin, hitting a lay-in with two minutes left as the Polar Bears closed the game on an 11-5 run.

Bowdoin held a 35-29 edge in rebounding and connected on 40 percent of its shots.

The Polar Bears take on rival Colby Saturday in Waterville at 2 p.m.

Women’s hockey

Bowdoin broke out of an early-season scoring slump by erupting for three third-period goals for a 5-2 win over New England College at Sidney J. Watson Arena.

The Polar Bears have won three straight and improved to 3-2, while the Pilgrims dropped to 1-7.

New England College scored two minutes into the game when Kristin Dehm cleaned up a rebound of a shot by Megan Servaes, and NEC claimed a 2-0 lead on the power play at 6:28 when Jamie Tabb wristed a shot into the cage.

Bowdoin answered two minutes later when Rachel Kennedy slipped a shot inside the near post.

The Polar Bears controlled the game in the second period, firing several shots on NEC starting goaltender Kelly Metz. Bowdoin broke through to tie the game when Maddy Hall beat Metz on a 3-on-1 break, with Jessica Bowen and Ariana Bourque earning an assist each. Bowdoin had 22 shots on goal in the period while holding the Pilgrims to just one.

A three-goal outburst in the third period put Bowdoin in control. Colleen Flaherty, Madeline Lane and Schuyler Nardelli scored over a threeminute span for a 5-2 Bowdoin lead.

Bowdoin outshot the Pilgrims 59-16. Metz had 48 saves in the loss.

The Polar Bears visit Norwich on Saturday at 7 p.m.