New London — Tyler Rowe started what was a pretty good week for the freshmen on the Connecticut College men's basketball team. He appeared in the "Faces in the Crowd" section of this week's Sports Illustrated after hitting back-to-back game-winning shots for the Camels on Jan. 9 and 12.

David Labossiere, also a freshman, continued the trend Friday night.

Labossiere, a 6-foot-4 forward from Stoneham, Mass., scored a game-high 23 points, 20 in the second half, as Conn topped Bates 73-62 in a New England Small Schools Athletic Conference matchup at Luce Field House.

Bates led 28-23 at halftime, with Conn, minus leading scorer Lee Messier (concussion) and Doug Henton (separated shoulder), shooting 26.7 percent.

Labossiere then helped ignite an 11-0 run in the second half, scoring seven straight, as the Camels (12-5, 3-2) took the lead for good. Rowe added 19 points, Zuri Pavlin had 15 points, 16 rebounds and five steals and Conn shot 22-for-29 from the free throw line.

"We needed more ball movement, more communication," Labossiere said of what changed during the second half. "In the first half, we were forcing it. I wasn't too aggressive in the first half. I wouldn't say it's hard (without Messier and Henton) because our team is very deep, but it was different."

It quicky turned into what Labossiere called his best game of the season, as he started the second half with a 3-point field goal to carve the Camels' deficit to two just like that.

Bates led 38-36 when Pavlin scored two straight baskets to give Conn the lead at 40-38. Labossiere took over from there. He pulled up for a 3-pointer on a fast break, struck again from the left-hand corner and knocked in two free throws with 10 minutes, 11 seconds to go, shooting over 6-foot-8 Bates center Malcolm Delpeche and drawing the foul.

Conn led 47-38 when the run was through and held off a comeback attempt by the Bobcats by going 10-for-12 from the free throw line in the final 4:29.

"It was the second time this year they kind of played him to shoot," Conn coach Tom Satran said. "They were worried about his quickness, taking away the drive. He's a slasher, a driver, he can finish strong, but he can shoot, too. We told him don't let the defense make him passive."

Satran said all the freshmen at Conn have been quality additions, including Phil Leotsakos, a 6-5 forward who played eight minutes Friday and had two points, two assists and a blocked shot. He said the freshmen allow the older players to "be themselves," not having to try to do everything.

"(Labossiere) is very versatile. He can score from anywhere," Satran said. "He dunks the ball. He makes his foul shots. He's got a lot of answers."

Rowe, meanwhile, a 5-10 guard from East Hartford can also take the ball to the basket, as well as hitting 14 3-pointers and shooting 44-for-52 from the foul line (84.6 percent) this season. He hit the game-winning shot with 16.1 seconds remaining in an 82-81 win over Middlebury on Jan. 9 in New London and followed that with a buzzer-beater in a 77-75 victory at CCNY on Jan. 12.

"Me and Tyler, we're always competing with each other. Well, not competing, but we work out together, play video games, anything," said Labossiere, who roomed with Rowe over winter break.

"I wasn't happy," said Satran of the opening half against Bates, at which point Rowe had nine points and the next highest scorer had three. "But we shot really bad. I thought it would be tough for us to shoot any worse."

Conn plays at home again at 1 p.m. Saturday against NESCAC opponent Tufts.

v.fulkerson@theday.com

Twitter: @vickieattheday