Beavers Use 25-2 Second-Half Run To Extend Longest Winning Streak Since 1993

BOSTON—Sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) recorded his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and 15th-ranked Babson College used a stifling defensive effort to defeat Emerson College, 67-43, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Brown-Plofker Gymnasium.

With its 10th consecutive victory, Babson is now 11-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Emerson drops to 6-6 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC.

Flannery, who scored 12 of his 16 points after halftime, went 5-of-10 from the field and 6-of-7 from the free throw line to lead the Beavers. Senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) scored 13 points and grabbed four boards, while classmate Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) reached double figures for the third time in the last four games, adding 11 points and a pair of steals.

Junior Tyson Hallowell (Lincoln, Mass.) finished with eight points to lead the Lions. Classmate Austin Pickney (Miami, Fla.) finished with six points and a team-high seven rebounds.

Babson emerged from a first half that had six ties and nine lead changes,  and neither team leading by more than four with a 27-24 lead going to the locker room. Dean and Wickey each had nine points for the Green and White, which took its final lead of the stanza on a layup by sophomore Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) and held Emerson scoreless over the final 3:46.

The Beavers took command of the game by scoring on their first four possessions of the second half to build a nine-point lead. Sophomore Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) buried a three-pointer and Flannery and senior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) sandwiched layups around a Dean jumper to make it 36-27 with 17:00 to play.

The Lions got as close as eight twice, the final time coming on a layup by junior Michael Thorpe (Newton, Mass.) to make it 40-32 with 11:44 to go before Babson went on a decisive 25-2 run over the next nine minutes to blow the game open. Leading 44-32 with nine minutes left, the Green and White got eight points from Flannery and scored on six straight possessions to take a 57-34 lead with 6:05 remaining. Back-to-back hoops by sophomores David Stauffer (York, Pa.) and Charlie Rice (Barnstable, Mass.), followed by a layup from first-year John Motopoulos (Glenmont, N.Y.) gave the Beavers a 65-34 advantage with under three minutes to go.

Babson, which held Emerson without a field goal for a stretch of 10:23 over the final 12 minutes, forced eight second-half turnovers and gave up just six second-half field goals.

The Green and White shot 49.1 percent (27-of-55) and held a 40-26 edge on the glass.

The Lions shot just 30.8 percent (16-of-52) from the floor and went just 6-of-14 at the free throw line.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson visits Springfield at 2 p.m., while Emerson travels to Coast Guard for a 1 p.m. start.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 15-2 all-time against Emerson and has won five of the last six meetings going back to 2008…the Beavers' current 10-game winning streak is the program's longest since 1992-93…Babson is 4-0 on the road this season and 16-4 in its last 20 road games going back to January 16, 2013…the Beavers are 8-1 when leading at the half and 10-1 on the year when outrebounding their opponents…Babson is 10-0 this season when scoring at least 60 points.