WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. – Bates opened its season Friday night with a 66-59 men’s basketball win over Western New England in the opener of the Williams College Invitational.

Senior forward Rob Stockwell posted a double-double for the Bobcats, scoring 11 points and securing 12 rebounds along with a team-high four assists.

First-year guard Chris Wilson netted a team-high 18 points for Bates while junior guard Pat Halloran added 13 points off the bench. Sophomore guard Matt Maynard led the Golden Bears with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Jim Bayne added 11 points.

Colby 78, Babson 75

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Nick Farrell got his senior season off to a fine start with 31 points, five steals, five rebounds and four assists, leading the Colby College men’s basketball team to a 78-75 win over Babson College in the Irving Oil Invitational on Friday night.

UMF 70, MCLA

FARMINGTON – Sean Fry connected on 9-of-12 from the floor on his way to a game-high 21 points as the University of Maine at Farmington men’s basketball team opened it season with a 70-53 win over the Mass College of the Liberal Arts (formerly North Adams State) in the opening round of the Hight Chevrolet Invitational. The Beavers broke the game open with a 14-4 run midway through the second half. Isaac Hutchinson added 14 points for the Beavers, while Matt St. John added 10 to round out the double-digit scorers.

The Beavers will host Southern Maine in the championship game Saturday at 3 p.m., while MCLA will face Lyndon State at 1 p.m.

Men’s hockey

Colby 6, Babson 3

WATERVILLE – Defensemen Joe Rothwell had two power-play goals and added an assist to help Colby take a 6-3 season-opening win over Babson College at Alfond Rink on Friday night.

Arthur Fritch and Josh Reber both had three assists, while Ryan Chrenek had a pair of goals.

Babson (0-1) and the Mules were tied 1-1 after one period. The Beavers scored first at 11:01 on a goal by Jason Schneider. Colby answered three minutes later when T.J. Kelley tallied. Babson went ahead again at 2:33 of the second period on a goal by Brad Baldelli, but the Mules took control after that goal. Eric Simmons got his first collegiate goal at 2:21 of the third period for a 4-2 lead.

Women’s basketball

UMF 75, Bridgewater State 66

GORHAM – Freshman Caitlyn Laflin scored a team-high 17 points, including 15 in the second half, to pace four players in double figures as the University of Maine at Farmington downed the Bridgewater State College Bears 75-66 Friday night in a first round game of the season-opening USM Tip-Off Tournament.

The win puts the Beavers into the championship game Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. against the winner of the USM-Husson College game.

UMF senior forward Kari Simpson scored all 16 of her points in the first half to help the Beavers build a 38-29 lead at the intermission. Simpson’s first basket, coming in the first minute of play, made her the school’s all-time leading scorer.

Maine Maritime 113, Maritime College 16

CASTINE – Senior Alyssa Burns of Dixfield scored her 1,000 career point as Maine Maritime pounded Maritime College 113-16 in women’s basketball Friday.

Burns led the Mariners with 20 points and 10 steals while Sheely Gott-Stilwell added 17 points and nine rebounds. Julia Knights and Megan Franklin chipped in with 13 points apiece. The Privateers committed 58 turnovers.

Field hockey

Messiah 1, Bowdoin 0

GENEVA, N.Y. – Junior Lindsey Hunter scored the game’s only goal as the Messiah Falcons advanced to their second straight NCAA Division III Field Hockey title game, beating the Bowdoin Polar Bears 1-0 in the semifinal round.

Messiah’s win ended the Polar Bears’ NCAA-best 13-game winning streak.

Hunter scored her 18th goal of the season 4:45 into the second half, and the Falcons withstood Bowdoin’s offense the rest of the way.

The Polar Bears (17-2) outshot Messiah 10-1 over the game’s final 30 minutes, but Messiah keeper Ashley Mowery made eight of her 14 saves in that span. Bowdoin finished with a 23-6 advantage in shots.