NORTON, Mass.—Senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) led all players with 15 points and nine rebounds, and 11th-ranked Babson College opened the game on a 20-4 run, cruising past Wheaton College, 75-50, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Emerson Gymnasium.
With its sixth consecutive win, Babson (18-2, 8-1) sits alone atop the conference standings and becomes the first team to clinch a berth in the upcoming league tournament. Wheaton, which has dropped 10 of its last 11 games, falls to 4-15 overall and 1-8 in the NEWMAC.
Senior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) added 11 points and seven boards, while classmate Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.,) contributed 11 points and five rebounds for the Beavers. Sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and five rebounds as 12 different players scored in the win.
Senior Mike O'Laughlin (Milford, N.H.) led the Lyons with 13 points. Ben Christopher (Northampton, Mass.) added seven, while junior Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.), the league's second-leading scorer, was held to just five points on 2-of-9 shooting.
The Green and White scored on six of its first seven possessions, getting contributions from all five starters to build a 13-3 lead just 3:20 into the game. Dean knocked down a three-pointer to push the lead to 13, and then added a layup following a steal by first-year Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) to make it 20-4 at the 14:34 mark.
Wheaton answered with five straight points, but Babson ripped off an 8-0 run to push its advantage to 28-9 on a pair of Dean free throws with 8:42 remaining in the period. The Lyons, who missed 10 of their first 13 shots, cut their deficit to 15 with just over five minutes left in the stanza, but the Beavers outscored the hosts 13-7 to close the half and take a 47-28 lead into the locker room.
Babson scored eight straight points to open the second half and went on a 22-4 run to build a 37-point lead with 9:12 to go in the contest. Back-to-back hoops by Flannery made it 56-30 at the 14:24 mark, and junior Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) and Wickey followed with consecutive layups to push the lead to 60-30. Sophomores Charlie Rice (Barnstable, Mass.) andKyle Rodegher (Andover, Conn.) then combined for nine straight points as the Beavers took their biggest lead of the night at 69-32.
The Green and White shot 45.9 percent (28-of-61) from the floor and outscored Wheaton 50-18 in the paint. The Beavers also held a 52-29 edge on the glass and scored 20 second-chance points off of 15 offensive boards.
The Lyons shot just 29.6 percent (16-of-54) from the field, and finished just 5-of-19 from beyond the arc.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday as Babson travels to 10th-ranked WPI at 3 p.m., while Wheaton visits Springfield for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
GAME NOTES: The Beavers are now 30-11 all-time against Wheaton and have won 12 straight in the series going back to 2011…Babson has scored at least 75 points in four straight games, and has held four of its last five opponents to 59 points or less…the Beavers are one victory shy of matching the 2002-03 and 2001-02 squads for the best 10-game start in NEWMAC start in program history…Babson has now won 12 consecutive road games going back to February 1 of last season.