HADLEY, Mass. - All top four seeds advanced in the quarterfinal round of the NESCAC Men’s Basketball Championship. Top seeded Amherst defeated Bowdoin 74-68 and will host the semifinals and championship next weekend, Saturday-Sunday, February 26-27. Down 61-59 to Bowdoin with just over four minutes remaining, the Jeffs retook the lead on a three-point play by Andrew Schiel and clutch three-pointers from junior John Casnocha and senior Russell Lee.

Amherst will host Trinity who used a quick start to outlast Wesleyan 78-64. Junior forward Tyler Rhoten scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the first half. Trinity went into the locker room with a 49-38 lead, as Rhoten made eight of his 12 shots in the first half and the Bantams shot 54.8 percent from the field (17-31) and 84.6 percent from the foul line (11-13) as a team during the first stanza.

In the other semifinal, second-seed Tufts will meet third-seeded Bates. Tufts downed Colby 99-88 in quarterfinal action as junior center Dan Martin poured in 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds. Bates snuck past Williams in overtime 76-73. Scoring a game-high 27 points, Bates’ Rob Stockwell’s biggest shot came as time expired in overtime. Coming off a low screen, Stockwell drained a 3-pointer from the left wing, lifting Bates to the victory.

Semifinal winners will play Sunday, February 27 at 12:00 p.m. The winner will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championship.

2005 NESCAC MEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
Quarterfinals - Saturday, Feb. 19 at Higher Seeds
at No. 1 Amherst 74, No. 8 Bowdoin 68
at No. 2 Tufts 99, No. 7 Colby 88
at No. 3 Bates 76, No. 6 Williams 73 - OT
at No. 4 Trinity 78, No. 5 Wesleyan 64

Semifinals - Saturday, Feb. 26 at Amherst
No. 4 Trinity at No. 1 Amherst - 2:00 p.m.
No. 3 Bates vs. No. 2 Tufts - 4:00 p.m.

Championship - Sunday, Feb. 27 at Amherst
Semifinal winners - 12:00 p.m.