MILTON, Mass. - Babson College used a strong second half to pull away from host Curry College for an 83-71 victory in the season opener for both schools on Tuesday night.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair with neither team holding a lead larger than five points. Curry's biggest advantage came early on a lay-up by Sedale Jones (Pittsfield, MA) at 15:50 of the opening frame. The Beavers twice held a five-point edge, the last coming at 2:35 on a lay-up by first-year Connor Boyen (Woodbury, CT) that made the score 33-28 in favor of the visitors. Babson would go on to take a 37-34 lead into the half.

Curry trailed by as many as eight points early in the second frame, as Marcus McDermott (Milton, MA) converted a layup and a foul shot at 15:00 making the score 53-45. The Colonels closed to within one point on two separate occasions, and pulled even at 67-67 when Jones knocked down a three-pointer at 4:28. However, the Beavers would outscore Curry 16-4 the rest of the way en route to the 12-point victory.

Babson first-year Matt Palazini (Franklin, MA) led all scorers with 22 points to go with five rebounds and two steals. He was followed by junior Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, ME) with 19 points and McDermott and senior captain Matt Zoia (Nashua, NH) with 13 points apiece. Noonan notched a double-double by pulling down a team-high 10 rebounds while also recording three steals, McDermott contributed four steals, and sophomore Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, FL) added seven boards and five assists.

Jones also notched a double-double with team highs of 21 points and 12 rebounds. Jarrell Jackson (Brockton, MA) added 17 points, while Michael Connery (Narragansett, RI) chipped in with 13 points.

Babson resumes play on November 19, playing against Bates at 1 p.m. in the opening round of the Chuck Resler Tip-Off Classic in Rochester, N.Y. Curry moves on to play Colby College, also on November 19, in the first round of the Brandeis Invitational.

NOTE: Portions of this story taken from a Curry College press release.