Joey Flannery scored 42 points against third-ranked Tufts, one point short of his career high. Babson athletics file photo

No. 2 Babson and No. 4 Marietta posted statement wins on Saturday afternoon while UW-Eau Claire and North Park did the same in divergent fashions on Saturday night.

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After resting in Babson's victory over Salem State last night, All-American Joey Flannery returned to the lineup with a vengeance on Saturday. Flannery scored 42 points in 39 minutes, including shoting 7-for-12 from three, as the Beavers defeated No. 3 Tufts, 91-78.

Flannery's five-point flurry late in the first half helped Babson take a nine-point lead to the locker room. After Tufts pulled within three, Babson went on a 7-0 run to push the lead to double-digits and held the Jumbos at bay the rest of the way.

Isaiah Nelson posted 20 points and 13 rebounds for the Beavers (9-0) who will face top-ranked Amherst on Thursday. Palleschi led the Jumbos (6-1) with 16 points.

No. 4 Marietta also stayed unbeaten by rallying past No. 20 Baldwin Wallace 84-64 in the teams' conference opener. The Pioneers (6-0, 1-0 OAC) trailed by six at the break but outscored the Yellow Jackets 55-29 in the second half. Marietta also outscored Baldwin Wallace 54-20 in the paint. Keith Richardson scored 17 points for the Pioneers while Cam Kuhn had 17 for the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 0-1 OAC).

Jordan Robinson and his teammate Juwan Henry have powered North Park to a 5-0 mark. North Park athletics file photo

In a battle of the CCIW's Vikings, North Park sailed to victory, thanks to another big night from its two All-Americans. North Park topped No. 17 Augustana 87-78 as Jordan Robinson notched 22 points and 12 assists in 39 minutes and Juwan Henry added 23 points. North Park (5-0, 1-0 CCIW) shot 59 percent from the field and 65 percent from three. Five players reached double figures for Augustana (5-2, 0-1 CCIW).

No. 6 North Central (Ill.) bounced back from a disappointing performance against UW-Platteville on Tuesday to beat No. 16 Illinois Wesleyan 84-75 in the teams' conference opener. Alex Sorensen had 23 points for the Cardinals (4-1, 1-0 CCIW). Wheaton (Ill.), which won one conference game all of last season, defeated Elmhurst 82-69 to start conference play 1-0 this season.

In the final Top 25 showdown of the day, No. 21 UW-Eau Claire shut down No. 9 Washington U. 64-50 in St. Louis. The Blugolds held the Bears to two points on 0-for-8 shooting in the final seven and a half minutes of the game. George Diekelman scored 19 points for Eau Claire (6-0). Box score

Emerson hung with No. 1 Amherst through one half before the Purple and White pulled away for a 79-62 victory. Amherst's reserves outscored the Blazers' bench 44-12 with Jayde Dawson scoring 16 points for Amherst. Box score

It was a tough afternoon for the rest of the ranked New England teams. Mass-Dartmouth head coach Brian Baptiste earned the 601st win of his career with an upset victory over No. 13 Keene State, 83-71. Fitchburg State sent No. 23 WPI to its second straight loss, this time by a count of 73-61. No. 24 Endicott pushed past Eastern Nazarene 72-68, but not without some cause for concern. Leading scorer Kamahl Walker was limited to 14 minutes and did not play at all in the second half.

Will losses by teams like WPI allow Swarthmore to crack the Top 25? The Garnet pulled out a stunner over Dickinson in overtime, 72-65.

With four seconds remaining in regulation and Swarthmore down three, Brennan intentionally missed a free throw, which was tapped out to Zack Yonda, who buried the corner three to tie the game. In overtime, Robbie Walsh stepped up with a big block and some clutch free throws to keep the Garnet undefeated on the season. Elijah Wright led the Red Devils with 16 points.

In another Centennial Conference nailbiter, Washington College edged Gettysburg 91-90 in double overtime. Brandon Berry's free throws with 11 seconds left in the second extra period gave the Shoremen the victory. Plymouth State won in even more dramatic fashion as Curtis Arsenault hit a three at the buzzer to lift the Panthers over Rhode Island College, 71-70.

What's more impressive than one buzzer beater? How about two, which is what Mount St. Mary got to beat Purchase State. First Connor Bacci hit a three at the buzzer to tie the game at 84. Then Tyler McDine hit a three at the buzzer in overtime to give the Blue Knights a 99-96 victory.