BRUNSWICK, Maine - The Bowdoin College men's basketball team rallied from an early deficit to defeat Saint Joseph's, 69-65, in its home opener Saturday afternoon at Morrell Gymnasium.

The Polar Bears improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2010 as the Monks fall to 1-2 this season.

Coming off the bench, Lucas Hausman led Bowdoin with a 19-point effort in the win. John Swords pitched in with 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks while Keegan Pieri had 11 points and seven boards.

The loss spoiled a fantastic performance by Saint Joseph's Nich Jobin, who had 24 points and six rebounds. Steve Simonds had 16 while Matt Medeiros pitched in 12 for the Monks.

Saint Joseph's came out on fire, sprinting to a 18-6 lead just seven minutes into the contest. The Monks still held a 21-8 lead later in the period when Hausman buried his first three-pointer of the day and spark a 17-3 Bowdoin surge that saw the Polar Bears take their first lead of the afternoon on a put-back by Matt Palecki with 6:23 left in the opening period. 

Matt Medeiros answered with a three-pointer to regain the lead for Saint Joseph's, and the Monks maintained their edge into halftime, capping the period on a three-pointer by Krubiel Workie just before the buzzer to take a 36-30 into the break.

Saint Joseph's held their slim advantage until the 14-minute mark of the second half when a John Swords dunk and Andrew Madlinger three-pointer pushed the Polar Bears ahead, 45-43. The Monks replied again with a 7-0 moments later to take a 53-50  lead on a Craig Luschenat trifecta with 8:30 on the clock. 

Bowdoin used a key 11-3 surge, that included five points from Hausman, to take the lead for good with under five minutes to play. The Monks were able to cut the lead to two points with 2:10 remaining, but Bowdoin connected on six straight field goals over the final minute to seal the win. 

COURTESY OF BOWDOIN COLLEGE SPORTS INFORMATION