Ray, Stockwell lead Bobcats to Naismith Classic championship
January 2, 2006

Zak Ray '07 earned Naismith Classic tournament MVP honors
BOX SCORE

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- The Bates College men's basketball team won the Holiday Inn-Naismith Classic Monday with a 70-64 victory over host Springfield College, for the Bobcats' fifth straight win and third tournament title in three tries this season.

Juniors Zak Ray (Bangor, Maine) and Rob Stockwell (Temple, N.H.) paced Bates for the second straight day, accounting for over half of the team's points. Ray scored 17 points and a game-high six assists, earning tournament MVP honors, while Stockwell scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor with a team-high eight rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team.

The Bobcats (8-2) outscored the Pride (3-8) 35-28 in the second half to overcome a 36-35 halftime deficit. Springfield's trio of Joel Aponte (19 points), Derek Yvon (18) and Damian Farley (17) accounted for all but 10 of the host team's points.

Springfield trailed only once during the first half and led by as many as eight (30-22). But Ray scored on a layup to open the second period and Bates steadily built and maintained a lead the rest of the way, gaining as much as an 11-point advantage (62-51).

Sophomore Bryan Wholey (Marshfield, Mass.) added 14 points for Bates, which will play host to in-state and NESCAC rival Colby on Jan. 7 in a non-league contest.

BATES COLLEGE 70, SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE 64
BATES COLLEGE (8-2)
Rob Stockwell 8-12 4-6 20; Zak Ray 6-16 3-4 17; Bryan Wholey 5-15 2-2 14; Matt Chudomel 1-1 3-4 5; Sam Taylor 2-5 0-0 4; Pat Halloran 1-2 1-2 4; Scott Place 1-1 0-0 3; Sean Cahill 1-5 0-0 3; John Lattimer 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 13-18 70.
SPRINGFIELD COLLEGE (3-8)
Joel Aponte 8-15 1-2 19; Derek Yvon 7-17 1-2 18; Damian Farley 6-11 5-5 17; Jamaal Gibbs 3-6 0-0 6; Brian Riley 1-5 0-0 2; Gregg Daly 1-3 0-0 2; Anthony Pizzo 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 7-9 64.
Bates College.................   35   35  -   70
Springfield College...........   36   28  -   64
3-point goals-Bates College 7-22 (Bryan Wholey 2-8; Zak Ray 2-7; Pat Halloran 1-2; Scott Place 1-1; Sean Cahill 1-3; Rob Stockwell 0-1), Springfield College 5-16 (Derek Yvon 3-10; Joel Aponte 2-4; Jamaal Gibbs
0-1; Anthony Pizzo 0-1). Fouled out--Bates College-None, Springfield College-None. Rebounds-Bates College 32 (Rob Stockwell 8), Springfield College 38 (Brian Riley 9). Assists-Bates College 15 (Zak Ray 6), Springfield College 12 (Anthony Pizzo 5). Total fouls-Bates College 11, Springfield College 16. A-456.
Holiday Inn-Naismith Classic Men's Championship Game