NORTHFIELD, Vt.— The Babson College men's basketball team capitalized on 46.2 percent shooting from the floor to post a 70-61 win against Wesleyan University in the first round of the 2012 TDS Ed Hockenbury Classic, hosted by Norwich University.

With the win, Babson improves to 4-3 on the season, while the loss drops Wesleyan to 4-2. 

The Beavers received a game-high 21 points from Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) and double-digit performances from Kenny Ross (Furlong, Penn.) and John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.), who totaled 16 and 15 points, respectively. Senior Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with six points, four boards, and a game-high five steals, senior captain Peter Foley (Wells, Maine) added five points and a game-high seven rebounds, and sophomore Ryan Stowe (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tossed in six points to go with four caroms.

Wesleyan was by Mike Callaghan (Madison, Conn.), who totaled a team-high 20 points.  Derick Beresford (Hampton, Ga.) chipped in with 11 points, while Julian Harris (New Hartford, Conn.) added eight.

A 9-0 run midway through the first half that featured a steal and breakaway slam by Braithwaite and a three-pointer by Wickey gave Babson a 20-9 lead midway through the first half. The margin would later balloon to as many as 12 on a pair of occassions before Wesleyan surged late to cut it to seven, 35-28, at the break.

The Cardinals closed the gap to just three after a conventional three-point play by Callaghan made it 40-37 less than five minutes into the second half, but that would be as close as they would get. A Palazini jumper, a Foley bucket, and a Ross lay-up pushed the Beavers' advantage back to nine, 46-37, and although Wesleyan would get to within two possessions several times down the stretch, Babson never relinquished the lead en route to the 70-61 victory.

Babson advances to the championship game of the Hockenbury Classic, taking on host Norwich at 3:00 p.m.  Wesleyan will face Mitchell College at 1:00 p.m. in the consolation game. 

NOTE: Portions of this story taken from a Norwich University press release.