BABSON PARK, Mass. – Babson College hit three of four free throws in the final minute and then came up with a huge defensive stop as time expired to defeat visiting Lasell College, 61-59, in a non-conference men's basketball contest at Staake Gymnasium on Tuesday night. With the win, the Beavers evened their overall record at 4-4, while the Lasers (0-7) fell just short of their first victory of the season.
Junior Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) led Babson with 14 points on 7-of-8 shooting from the field while also collecting six rebounds. Sophomore Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.) added 13 points, sophomore Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, and junior captain Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) finished with eight points and a game-high six assists. Babson also received strong performances off the bench from junior Peter Foley (Wells, Maine), who contributed four points, six rebounds, and two steals, and first-year Joe Zavertnik (Plantation, Fla.), who added six points and five boards.
Lasell was led by junior Javon Williams (Mattapan, Mass.), who scored a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds and five steals. Sophomore Sean Bertanza (Seymour, Conn.) added 15 points in defeat for the Lasers, while junior Derrick Harper (Boston, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points and eight rebounds.
After Babson took a slim 29-27 lead into the break, neither team led by for than four points in a closely-contested second half that featured 10 ties and eight lead changes. Lasell took its final lead of the contest after a pair of Williams free throws gave the visitors a 53-52 edge with 5:14 left to play. The Beavers then moved in front to stay on back-to-back lay-ups by Noonan, the second coming with 3:13 remaining to give the hosts a 56-53 cushion.
Williams sank two more freebies to pull Lasell back to within one with 2:18 left, but Florio hit a driving lay-up in traffic to push the Beavers' advantage back to three, 58-55, at the two-minute mark. Neither team would score again until a Williams put-back cut it to 58-57 with just 46 seconds remaining.
After a foul call near midcourt, Rudolph sank two clutch free throws with 32.9 seconds left to give Babson a 60-57 advantage, but Lasell sophomore Jordan Fuller (Oviedo, Fla.) came right back with a short jumper in the lane to make it 60-59 with 24.1 on the clock. Florio then drew a foul and hit the second of two free throws, putting the Beavers up 61-59 with 19.5 ticks remaining, and Williams' contested jumper in the lane went in and out as the buzzer sounded giving Babson the dramatic two-point victory.