By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – When Zak Ray is pouring in points by the dozens, it doesn’t usually bode well for Bates College.

That’s no reflection on Ray, a creative guard who’s basically three inches away from being a Division I player and is wholly capable of carrying any men’s basketball team on his shoulders. It’s just that the Bobcats are unquestionably at their best when Ray remains true to his keen eye and unselfish nature.

On Tuesday night, Bates basked in the best of both worlds. Ray erupted for 24 points within the flow of his team’s offense, which wasn’t that much of a chore the way everything flowed and fell consistently from the paint and perimeter in an eye-opening, 88-62 rout of Bowdoin at Alumni Gymnasium.

In addition to leading four double-digit scorers, Ray added nine rebounds (eight on the defensive glass) and a team-high five assists for Bates (6-2), which won’t play another game until the opening round of the Naismith Classic in Springfield, Mass., on New Year’s Day.

“We got out of the gates really fast and never let them back in the game,” said Ray. “I’m perfectly content if I don’t score any points. It all depends on what’s working for us.”

Bates made its offense work from the outside, led by Ray, Bryan Wholey (12 points) and Pat Halloran (11) and the inside, courtesy of Rob Stockwell (11) and Matt Chudomel (eight points and 10 rebounds). The Bobcats drained 11 3-pointers, including four by Ray, a 5-foot-11 junior and former Maine Mr. Basketball from Bangor.

And when the shots didn’t fall, Bates simply turned its back to the basket and bugged Bowdoin’s potent offense throughout its toughest night of the young season.

Andrew Hippert led the Polar Bears (6-2) with 15 points and Kevin Bradley added 12. They were the only shooters to connect from beyond the arc for Bowdoin, which shot a collective 3-for-19 from bonus territory and experienced an abrupt end to its six-game winning streak.

The game didn’t technically count in the New England Small College Athletic Conference standings, because the teams will play again Jan. 13 in Brunswick, but Bates walked away rightfully convinced that it will contend for the league title and an NCAA Tournament berth.

“We’re going to have a couple of practices, take final exams and then go our separate ways and spend a few weeks with our families over the holidays,” said Chudomel, a 6-6 center and one of only two Bates seniors. “We have the utmost respect for every team in NESCAC, and to get a win like this over a rival is a great way to go into that break.”

Bowdoin scored the first bucket of the game, but Bates never trailed after answering with an inside deuce by Stockwell and a traditional 3-point play by Sean Cahill.

Stockwell and Chudomel also combined to lure Bowdoin’s leading scorer, senior Kyle Petrie, into two quick fouls. Bates ran off eight unanswered points at the beginning of Petrie’s ensuing 10-minute stretch on the pine, and the Bobcats continued to pepper every corner of the shot chart in rolling up a 39-16 lead with 4:43 remaining in the half.

Hippert had nine at the break to help the Polar Bears creep back within 18 at 45-27. Then, early in the second half, Bowdoin rattled off seven straight points on a Bradley trifecta, a backdoor feed from Petrie to Andrew Sargeantson and a Hippert baseline jumper, dropping the deficit to a dozen.

But four of Bates’ next five statements on the scoreboard came in threes. Ray racked up one triple the old-fashioned way and one from long distance, and Halloran rained down a pair from past the stripe.

Ray’s end-to-end burst for two put Bates up 64-43, coaxed a Bowdoin timeout and whipped the Bobcats’ bench into a frenzy.

“You always hope a game like this will give you the kind of momentum you carry for three weeks,” said Bates coach Joe Reilly.

Petrie finished with 11 points for Bowdoin. Ray was one of five Bates players to register at least one steal in a disruptive defensive effort.

“They have so many weapons. You look at the game plan and you’re worried about six or seven different guys,” Ray said. “To hold them to 62 points, we had to play a pretty complete game.”