College hoops

Went to see Amherst play Bowdoin Saturday in the first round of the New England Small College Athletic Conference. Bowdoin started a 6’6” freshman from Iowa City, Iowa who looks like a stretched Rick Bruner. The kid played with a nonchalant excellence that could be easily mistaken for arrogance, blocking shots, tossing headfakes, scrambling by fleeter-looking players. But he missed a bunch of easy shots in the first few minutes that probably cost Bowdoin the game. The game was much closer than the final score, 78-67, looks.