BABSON PARK, Mass.—First-year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) led all scorers with 17 points and classmate Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half, lifting Babson College to a 67-48 victory over Wheaton College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Thursday night at Staake Gymnasium.
With its second consecutive win Babson is now 15-5 overall and 6-3 in conference play, while Wheaton drops to 7-11 on the year and 2-7 in the NEWMAC.
Bohmiller was 5-of-6 from the floor on the night, while junior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds for the Beavers. Classmate John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) added nine points and a game-high three assists.
Sophomore Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.) scored all of his team-high 11 points in the second half to lead the Lyons. Senior Will Bayliss (Manchester, N.H.), junior Mike Cannon (New York, N.Y.) and first-year Quinton Dale (Winthrop, Mass.) each chipped in with eight points. Cannon and Dale also pulled down eight and seven rebounds, respectively.
Babson never trailed in the game, jumping to a quick 8-2 lead behind a three-pointer from senior Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) and five straight points from Mack. A jumper from first-year Ben Christopher (Northampton, Mass.) brought Wheaton back within 14-13 at the 11:58 mark, but the Beavers responded with a 10-2 spurt keyed by three-pointers from Wickey and Bohmiller to grab a 24-15 lead just 5:27 before halftime.
The Lyons closed to within 28-22 with 1:33 left in the stanza, but back-to-back hoops by Flannery, followed by a trifecta from senior Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.) on the following possession helped the Green and White open a 35-24 lead at the break.
Babson pushed its lead to 46-30 on a pair of free throws by Wickey just over five minutes into the second half, but Wheaton used a 12-2 burst, sparked by seven points from Battaglia and a three-pointer from Cannon, to cut the lead to 48-42 with 9:38 left in the game.
The Beavers were clinging to a 54-48 edge with 5:41 to go before putting the game out of reach with a 10-0 run. Back-to-back layups by Bohmiller, a steal and finish by Flannery, and a four-point play by Bohmiller made it 64-48 with 2:55 remaining.
The Green and White finished the night shooting just 39 percent (23-for-59) from the floor and were just 5-of-23 from three-point range. Wheaton shot 37.3 percent (19-for-51) from the floor and connected on just 4-of-22 three pointers.
The Beavers held a 36-14 edge in paint points and outscored the Lyons 18-8 off turnovers.
Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts third-ranked WPI at 2 p.m., while Wheaton will take on Springfield at 1 p.m.
GAME NOTES: Babson leads Wheaton 28-11 all-time and has won nine straight against the Lyons going back to 2011…The Beavers are now 8-2 on the year at home with seven of the eight victories coming by 18 points or more…Babson is 12-0 this season when leading at halftime and 5-0 when allowing 50 points or less…The Beavers have now held 10 opponents to under 40 percent shooting this season, winning all 10 games.