CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime men's basketball fell to Bowdoin College, 83-82 Wednesday night in a non-conference matchup.

How it Happened: The first five minutes of play proved to be extremely competitive with the Mariners taking a one point lead after Cameron Gerlach (Hendersonville, Tenn.) sunk two free throws with 14:28 left in the first half. The Polar Bears answered with six straight points to bring the score to 21-13. The Mariners came within three points before Bowdoin went on a 13-7 run with 7:43 left in the first half. Bowdoin continued to pressure the Mariners, taking their largest lead of the game going into the half with a score of 53-39.

The Mariners came out strong in the second half, taking the lead, when Carter Rubin (Littleton, Colo.) and Tyler Gobeil (Scarborough, Maine) splashed two three-pointers each to spark a 17 point run with 15:31 left in the game. The Mariners continued to hold their advantage, bringing the score to 65-59, their largest lead of the game, when Gerlach made a layup with 11:32 on the clock. The Polar Bears then retook the lead off of a made layup from Michael Simonds with 7:40 left in the game. The score continued to go back-and-forth, until James McGowan swished two free throws to beat the Mariners by one.

Inside the Numbers: Gerlach tallied a double-double with a game-high 23 points and 11 assists, in addition to eight rebounds, two steals, and one block. Rubin recorded 21 points, five rebounds, and one assist, while Malachi Reincke (Houston, Texas) chipped in 19 points, seven rebounds, two assists, and one block.

Simonds led the Polar Bears with 21 points, five steals, four rebounds, and four assists, while Taiga Kagitomi and Manav Randhawa both chipped in 11 points each. Afamdi Achufusi tallied 10 points, six assists, four rebounds, and two steals

The Mariners shot 53.6% from the hardwood and 54.2% from beyond the arc, while the Polar Bears shot 39.7% from the floor and 29.4% three point land.

Up Next: The Mariners fall to 1-5 overall, while the Polar Bears improve to 5-2 on the year. Maine Maritime returns to action on Saturday, December 4 when they host Thomas College in their conference opener.