Bates Hands Babson First Loss, 75-60, At Chuck Resler Tourney

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- The Babson College men's basketball team suffered its first defeat of the season on day one of the 2010 Chuck Resler Classic at Rochester University on Friday, where the Beavers fell to regional foe Bates College, 74-60, in a non-conference tilt. With the loss, Babson saw its record fall to 1-1 on the year, while Bates improved to 1-0.

Babson was led by sophomore Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.) and first-year Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.), who each scored 10 points in defeat, and junior Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) and sophmore Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.), who added nine points apiece while combining for 11 rebounds. Sophomore guard Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) added six points and three assists for the Beavers, who shot 43.3 percent from the floor.

Brian Ellis led all scorers with 23 points for Bates, as he became just the 30th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point mark. Alex Gallant added 18 points and seven rebounds for the Bobcats, while Mark Brust scored 14 points. Bates shot 58.5 percent from the field in the contest while holding a commanding 33-23 rebound advantage, including 13 caroms off the offensive glass.

The Beavers led only twice in the contest, with the first occasion coming after a Rudolph jumper capped a 6-0 run that gave Babson an 8-7 edge just five and a half minutes into the game. Bates later built a 22-14 lead with 9:31 left in the opening period, but the Beavers answered with a 16-6 charge that was punctuated by a Palazini jumper, giving the Green and White a 30-28 lead with 4:47 on the clock.

After closing the period with an 8-2 run to take a 36-32 advantage into the break, Bates never relinquished the lead in the second half. Pushing their cushion to double-digits in the opening three minutes, the Bobcats eventually led by as many as 16 on a pair of occassions before settling for the 74-60 win.

Babson will look to bounce back against another tough opponent on Saturday night, as the Beavers take on tournament host and perennial powerhouse Rochester at 8 p.m.