Clutch Shooting Helps Babson Knock Off No. 25 Colorado College, 93-90, In OT

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BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored a career-high 34 points and classmate Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:20 remaining in overtime as Babson College defeated 25th-ranked Colorado College, 93-90, in non-conference men's basketball action on Monday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.

With the victory, Babson moves to 8-2 overall, while Colorado College, which suffered its first loss of the season to a Division III opponent, drops to 6-2.

Flannery shot of 14-for-18 from the floor and scored 25 of his 34 points after halftime to pace four Beavers in double figures. Junior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) had 14 points and six rebounds, Bohmiller scored all of his career-high 13 points in the second half and overtime, and junior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Junior Eric Dean(Gilford, N.H.) contributed nine points and eight boards, while senior Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.) dished out a career-high 11 assists.

Senior Ryan Milne (Phoenix, Ariz.) erupted for 34 of his career-high 38 points after the break, going 12-for-18 from the floor with five three-pointers, and 9-for-10 from the free throw line. Junior Chris Lesnansky (Denver, Colo.) added 27 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the floor, and an 11-for-13 effort from the foul line. Junior Russell Clark (Houston, Texas) added nine points, and sophomore Justin Berardino (Fairfield, Conn.) scored five points and grabbed a game-high 10 boards.

Babson made eight of its first 13 shots to build a 15-7 lead with 11:52 to go in the first half. Despite going 0-for-10 from the beyond the arc, the Beavers got nine points from Flannery and eight from Mack to offset Lesnansky, who had 15 first-half points and scored 13 of the Tigers last 16 in the opening period, as the teams went into the locker room deadlocked at 25-25.

The Green and White jumped ahead early in the second half, getting eight points from Flannery to ignite a 13-6 spurt over the first 3:58 of the stanza to grab a 38-31 lead. The Beavers, who led never trailed in the second half, pushed their lead to as many as 10 at 60-50 following a Flannery layup with 6:09 to go, and led 69-60 with 2:39 left in regulation before Colorado College forced overtime with a 13-4 run.

Clark started the run with a jumper to trim the lead to seven with 2:23 left, and the Tigers got within 69-65 after a three-pointer by Milne with 1:20 to go. Milne buried two free throws after a Berardino steal to cut the Beavers' lead to 69-67, and then followed a free throw from Babson senior Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) with another three to tie the game at 70-70 with 47 seconds left.

Bohmiller answered for Babson, drilling a trifecta from the left win with 24 ticks left, but Milne buried a three-pointer from the left corner with six seconds to go to tie the game at 73-73. Ross had a final look for the Beavers, but his deep three rimmed out, sending the teams to overtime

The extra period featured four ties and three lead changes before Bohmiller's third three-pointer of the game put Babson up for good. Milne scored five of Colorado College's first seven points of the stanza, giving the visitors an 80-77 edge with 3:09 left. Wickey drilled a three-pointer, and Mack hit a pair of free throws to put the Beavers back in front, 82-80, with 2:38 to go.

Clark and Berardino each knocked down two free throws, but Bohmiller's triple, and four straight points from Flannery gave the Green and White an 89-84 edge with just 50 seconds left. Milne's final three-pointer of the afternoon pulled the Tigers back within 90-89 with 19 seconds left, but Bohmiller drained a pair at the line to regain a 92-89 lead with 10 seconds to go. Milne, who was fouled coming up court, made his first free throw and missed the second intentionally, but the Beavers regained possession when the rebound bounced out of bounds with five seconds to go. Ross then drained 1-of-2 free throws with 0.7 seconds remaining and Flannery knocked the Tigers desperation in-bounds pass to secure the win.

Babson wraps up its non-conference schedule when it hosts Elms College on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m., while Colorado College travels to the University of Dallas for a 1 p.m. tip on Saturday afternoon.