By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – It’s good to be home.

The Bates College basketball teams relish the thought of playing this afternoon’s NESCAC quarterfinal games in Alumni Gymnasium, especially when you consider that the Bobcats will meet one of the conference’s hottest teams in each half of the doubleheader.

Third-seeded Bates (17-7, 6-3 NESCAC) confronts No. 6 Williams (16-8, 4-5) in the men’s game at 2 p.m. The Ephs beat Colby and Bowdoin last weekend to secure their status in the eight-team tournament field.

Bates (22-1, 8-1) hosts Tufts (14-9, 3-6) at 4 p.m. in the women’s nightcap. The Bobcats are ranked No. 1 nationally in NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com but seeded second behind Bowdoin in the league bracket. The Jumbos, who jumped out to a 6-0 start, won their final three regular-season games last week.

Tufts task ahead

Winning by double digits at Tufts on Feb. 5 won’t lull the Bobcats into a false sense of security. Bates coach Jim Murphy recalled a post-game conversation with Tufts assistant Julia Price, one of his former players.

“You get everybody’s best game when you’re on top,” Murphy said. “Julia said that was by far the best basketball Tufts had played this season.”

As additional proof, Murphy can cite last Saturday’s trip to Trinity, when the Bobcats needed a free throw in the final seconds to shake off the Bantams, 70-69. Until then, the 76-66 triumph at Tufts represented Bates’ second-smallest margin of victory all season.

Tufts’ upset hopes hinge on its ability to slow down Olivia Zurek. Problem is, nobody else has derailed the 5-foot-9 senior forward, a three-time NESCAC Player of the Week. Zurek sits among the league’s top three in four different offensive categories. She leads Bates with 16.3 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.9 steals per game while shooting over 50 percent from the field.

“Olivia is probably the top player in our conference and one of the best in New England,” said Murphy.

Murphy says his other two senior starters, point guard Heather Taylor of Nobleboro and outside shooting threat Betsy Hochadel of Portland, are “steady as a rock.” And he’s enjoyed major contributions from sophomore center Meg Coffin (12.2 ppg) and freshman guard Sarah Barton (4.7 apg).

Senior forward Allison Love averaged 20.7 points in Tufts’ three season-ending wins. Sophomore Valerie Krah is the leading perimeter threat for coach Carla Berube, who played on the undefeated 1995 championship team at the University of Connecticut.

Ray of hope

The Bates men clinched their No. 3 spot in thrilling fashion. Senior Elliott Linsley nailed an 18-footer at the buzzer to snag a 69-67 win over Trinity last weekend.

Sophomore Rob Stockwell leads the balanced Bobcats with 15.7 and 7.8 rebounds per game. Maranacook product Brian Gerrity (12.8) provides senior presence, while sophomore point guard Zak Ray (11.8 ppg, 5.0 apg, 83.1 free-throw percentage), a former Maine Mr. Basketball from Bangor, runs the show.

“I believe Zak is the best point guard in NESCAC,” coach Joe Reilly said recently.

Williams beat Bates in the league semifinals last year. Senior Tucker Kain (18.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is an interior force for the Ephs.

Bates enters the playoffs on the strength of its fifth straight winning season, the program’s longest streak since a run of seven that ended in 1949.

The semifinals and finals are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26 and Sunday, Feb. 27 at the home of the highest remaining seed.