By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – It was time for something new.

Two attempts at a game-winner in regulation had failed, so Joe Reilly drew up a different plan.

This one had a dramatic results as Rob Stockwell hit a game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer Saturday to lift Bates to a 76-73 overtime victory over Williams in the NESCAC quarterfinal at Alumni Gymnasium

“Our go-to play was used twice before, and it didn’t work,” said the Bates men’s basketball coach. “So I thought we needed a different look. It’s a risky play. You’ve got to have a lot of faith in your point guard because you’re running him at four guys, but I have faith in the team, and they executed perfectly.”

Bates point guard Zak Ray dribbled patiently in the backcourt as time ticked away. Ray had tried twice in the final minute of regulation to create his own shot only to fail to get an open look. This time, with a screen developed in front, Ray didn’t take a shot. Instead, he dished to his left for a wide-open Stockwell. His shot from the left side of the arc swished through the net as time expired.

“I knew we had less than five seconds left,” said Stockwell. “So I knew I had to throw something up. I’m just glad it went in.

“That’s a play we’ve been working on all week. It’s where Zak comes off a double screen. He takes the man with him. Elliott (Linsley) rolls to the back, and I kick out. It just happened that all the guys went to Zak, and I happen to be open.”

The dramatic come-from-behind victory in the NESCAC quarterfinal was especially sweet for the Bobcats. Bates (18-7) was eliminated by Williams (16-9) in the conference tournament the last two seasons.

“They’ve been to the National Championship game the last two years,” said Reilly. “They have four guys that have been part of that. So it’s a great achievement for our program.”

Stockwell finished with 27 points while Ray added 15 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Linsley had 13 points.

Though Williams had built an 11-point lead in the second half, it couldn’t keep the Bobcats at bay. A run of 11 straight points put Bates back in the hunt with 2:41 left in regulation.

“They came up with some big stops,” said Williams coach Dave Paulsen. “We’re playing with two freshmen and a sophomore on the road. We started playing a little tentative, and their pressure had a lot to do with that. So they played well defensively, and we weren’t playing as aggressively. It was almost as if we were waiting for the clock to run out.”

Stockwell led the charge with nine points during that run. A steal and dunk, followed by a 3-pointer, got Bates within two. He put back a rebound to tie it at 64-64.

Tucker Kain, who led the Ephs with 24 points, and Stockwell traded baskets late in regulation. Both clubs had a try at the game-winner but failed. Williams then had the shot clock run out on them with 17 seconds left. Ray tried to pull up for a game-winning jumper twice in the final minute but didn’t get a quality shot either time.

In overtime, Bates had to answer a 3-pointer from Chris Rose and baskets by Kain. Ray buried a 3-pointer of his own, and scores by Brian Gerrity tied it twice. His drive and layup with 56 seconds left knotted it at 73-73 and set up a crucial defensive stand for the Bobcats.

“We were trying to get Tucker Kain a look at the basket or have him post up,” said Paulsen. “They did a pretty good job defending it, and we didn’t execute the play the way we would have like, and we got an average shot.”

Kain’s turnaround jumper nicked the rim, and Ray got the rebound with 27 seconds left.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games this year,” said Reilly. “Some we’ve won and some we haven’t. We really practice a lot of end-of-game situations. I think our guys showed a lot of composure late in the game.”