CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Senior Brian Kelley (Potomac, Md.) hit a three-pointer with one second to go in regulation and scored seven of his 10 points in overtime as visiting Babson College defeated No. 8 MIT, 84-71, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Rockwell Cage.
With its third consecutive victory, Babson improves to 12-8 overall and 7-2 in league play, while MIT, which saw its three-game winning streak come to an end, falls to 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the NEWMAC.
Senior Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington Md.) finished with 24 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Nick Comenale (New York Mills, N.Y.) recorded 16 points on the night. First-year Andrew Jaworski (Tolland, Conn.) contributed 12 points and junior Brandon Johnson (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) and sophomore Shyheim Ulrickson(Topsham, Maine) chipped in with 10 points apiece for the Beavers.
Junior AJ Jurko (Weston, Fla.) made five triples to lead the Engineers with 24 points. First-year Hamilton Forsythe (Weston, Conn.) added 18 points, and junior Cameron Korb recorded 11 points in the loss.
With Babson trailing 67-64 with one second left in regulation, a three-pointer by Kelley following a baseline inbounds play sent the teams into their second consecutive overtime game. Kelley went 1-for-2 from the free-throw line to start what would be a 17-4 overtime run for the Green and White. Forsythe recorded a layup to bring the Engineers within one, but two triples from Kelley, a field goal from Johnson and a pair of free-throws by Jaworksi gave the Beavers an 80-69 lead. Comenale finished off the win by turning a pair of steals into dunks over the final 50 seconds of the extra session.
The Green and White, which shot 42.4 percent in the first half, ended the period on a 20-9 run to lead 40-34 at the break. The Beavers pushed their advantage to as much as 49-37 just over four minutes into the second half before the Engineers responded with a 13-0 burst to take a one-point lead with 11:38 left in regulation.
MIT pushed its advantage to 60-53 lead after first-year Ian Hinkley (Raleigh, N.C.) recorded a three-pointer with 7:28 on the clock. A pair of layups and a made free-throw by Johnson brought Babson within two, but Dakota Pierce converted a three-point play with 59 seconds remaining to extend the Engineers' margin back to 67-62. With 39 seconds left, Jaworski cut the deficit to three with a pair of free throws, and the Beavers got the ball back following a miss by Forsythe with 19 seconds to go setting up Kelley's heroics.
The Beavers shot 48.3 percent for the game and finished wiht a season-high 16 steals on the night. MIT, which shot just 39.4 percent on the night and matched its season high with 23 turnovers, held a 42-32 edge on the glass.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Clark at 3 p.m., while MIT brings in Wheaton for a 2 p.m. game.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 54-22 all-time against the Engineers and have won 10 of the last 13 games between the teams.
• Six of the last eight games between Babson and MIT have been decided by six points or less or in overtime.
• Over the last three games, Kelley has come off the bench to average 12.0 points while shooting 10-of-16 from three-point range.
• The Beavers have won 29 of their last 30 NEWMAC road games going back to 2014.