BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) scored 11 of his game-high 14 points in the first half, and 25th-ranked Babson College used a 35-7 run that spanned both halves on its way to an easy 72-44 victory over Emerson College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference action on Wednesday night at Staake Gymnasium.

With its third straight win, Babson is now 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the league, while Emerson drops to 7-5 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

First-year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored 13 points and grabbed six rebounds, while seniorMatt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points for the Beavers. Classmate Kenny Ross(Furlong, Pa.) netted nine points to go along with a game-high seven assists, and junior Eric Dean(Gilford, N.H.) added eight points, a team-high seven boards, and three assists.

Sophomores Bobby Ganges (Princeton, N.J.), Tyson Hallowell (Lincoln, Mass.), and Brian Hurley (South Boston, Mass.) each scored six points to lead the Lions. Senior Jon Goldberg (Stowe, Vt.) pulled down a game-high nine rebounds in defeat.

Babson got seven quick points from Wickey and made seven of its first 12 shots to build a 15-8 lead in the opening 7:35 of the game. Emerson scored on each of its next three possessions, and pulled within 19-15 on a short jumper by Hurley at the 9:46 mark before the Beavers pulled away.

A three-pointer from Palazini, followed by a layup from junior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) and a pair of free throws from Ross pushed the Babson advantage to 26-15 with 5:56 to go before halftime. Hoops from Wickey and Flannery put the Green and White up 15, and Palazini followed a layup by Lions sophomore Mike Carbone (North Reading, Mass.) with his second triple of the half to help the Green and White cap a 15-2 run, and push its lead to 34-17 at halftime.

Flannery opened the second half with a pair of hoops and Dean converted a layup in transition to give Babson a 40-20 lead just over two minutes into the period. Hurley finished a layup for Emerson following a timeout, but the Beavers scored on seven of their next nine possessions, sparked by back-to-back three-pointers from Ross and Wickey, to build its biggest lead of the game at 54-22 with 12:49 left in the contest.

The Green and White, which shot 46 percent (29-for-63) from the floor, outscored the Lions 38-12 in the paint and 21-2 off turnovers. Babson also held a 42-33 edge on the glass and limited Emerson to just 32.1 percent (17-for-53) shooting overall, and just 14.3 percent (2-for-14) from three-point range.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Springfield at 2 p.m., and Emerson plays its first-ever NEWMAC home game when Coast Guard comes to town for a 1 p.m. tipoff.

GAME NOTES: The Beavers, who are nationally-ranked for the first time since February 2003, are now 14-2 all-time against Emerson…Babson has scored 72 points or more in seven consecutive games going back to December 4…The Beavers have won three straight NEWMAC regular season games going back to last winter…Ross, who is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, has compiled 23 assists against just two turnovers during the Green and White's current three-game winning streak.