BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) poured in 28 points and senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) added 11 points, 10 rebounds and four assists as 17th-ranked Babson College defeated Colby College, 72-65, in non-conference men's basketball action on Wednesday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.

With its eighth straight victory, Babson is now 9-1 overall, while Colby drops to 6-4 on the year.

Flannery went 12-of-13 at the free throw line and scored 17 points in the second half to help the Beavers rally from a six point halftime deficit. Sophomore Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) added 10 points, four steals and two assists, while classmate Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) scored all 10 of his points in the second half.

Junior Luke Westman (Newton, Mass.) scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting to go along with five assists to lead the Mules. Classmate Chris Hudnut (Chevy Chase, Md.) added 17 points and five rebounds, fellow junior Ryan Jann (Westford, Mass.) scored 15 points, going 4-of-5 from deep, and classmate Sam Willson (Watertown, Conn.) chipped in with 10 points and three boards.

Despite a slow start on offense, the Green and White held Colby without a field goal for nearly 10 minutes and built a 14-5 lead following a three-point play by Flannery with 10:26 to play in the first half. The Beavers took their biggest lead of the period at 17-7 on a Bohmiller three-pointer with 9:50 remaining, but the Mules responded with a 13-3 run to pull even at 22-22 on a trey by senior Connor O'Neill (Freeport, Maine) with 4:05 to play.

Babson regained a two-point lead on a hoop by Flannery, but Colby closed the stanza with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back three-pointers by Jann and Willson, to take a 32-26 lead into the locker room.

The Beavers wasted little time rallying to open the second half though, as Flannery and Wickey scored 10 of the team's first 13 points, including consecutive three-point plays, to move back in front 39-35 at the 16:26 mark. The Mules cut their deficit to 41-37 on a layup by Hudnut two possessions later, but Droney buried back-to-back triples to cap a 21-5 run that gave the hosts a 47-37 lead with 13:14 to play.

Babson took its biggest lead of the game at 52-39 on a putback by Wickey with 11:13 to go and then matched it on three occasions over the next four minutes before Colby got within 58-49 on consecutive hoops from Hudnut and Westman. The teams then traded hoops before senior Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) drilled a three-pointer to put the Green and White up 60-49 with 4:33 remaining in the game.

The Mules got as close as six in the closing minute but the Beavers knocked down four late free throws to close out the win.

Babson shot 46 percent (23-of-50) from the floor and a season-high 87 percent (20-of-23) from the free throw line. The Green and White also held a 25-21 edge on the glass and scored 24 points off 21 Colby turnovers.

The Mules shot 59 percent (23-of-39) from the field and were 7-of-14 from three-point range.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson travels to Elms for a 2 p.m. start, while Colby visits Maine-Farmington at 3 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 10-16 all-time against Colby and has won two straight in the series…the Beavers eight-game winning streak is its longest since the 2003-04 posted nine straight victories…Wickey has now recorded two double-doubles on the year and has reached double figures in 14 consecutive games…Babson has won 19 of its last 22 contests when outrebounding its opponent…the Beavers are 7-0 this season when scoring 60 points or more.