Having defeated Bowdoin by 30 points earlier in the season on the road without the help of senior tri-captain Pat Fitzsimons, Amherst may have slightly overlooked their opponents this time around. However, credit must be given to Bowdoin; the Polar Bears came to play.
"I know we beat Bowdoin easily during the regular season, but everything changes when it comes to the postseason," said Fitzsimons.
The Polar Bears, led by a talented senior class aware that a loss would mean an end to their collegiate careers, shot the ball well from the perimeter all day long. More importantly, Bowdoin took care of the basketball. In the two teams' first meeting, Bowdoin had a dreadful eight-to-20 assist to turnover ratio; on Saturday, that ratio was 11:8.
With less than three minutes to go in Saturday's game, the Polar Bears found themselves down only three points, 66-63. But powered by a couple of critical free throws and offensive rebounds, Amherst went on a 12-4 run to close out the hard-fought game.
Although Bowdoin put on an impressive display of talent and determination, the afternoon belonged to Fitzsimons. The Amherst big man, who has been plagued by injury for much of the season, showed why, when healthy, he can be the most dynamic force in the NESCAC.
"Fitzy" dominated the paint for the Jeffs, finishing the game with 20 points, 17 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Fitzsimons notched his 1000th career point late in the first half on a thunderous alley-oop courtesy of a nifty feed from Ray Corrigan '05. The star center also solidified his place in the record books by besting his own single-game tournament record for rebounds and equaling his tournament record for blocked shots.