Beavers Win 15th Straight To Advance To The Sectional Semifinals For First Time Since 2002

BABSON PARK, Mass—Sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored a game-high 19 points, while senior Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) added 15 as fourth-ranked Babson College defeated 21st-ranked University of Scranton, 54-47, in an NCAA Tournament Second Round contest on Saturday night at Staake Gymnasium.

With its school-record tying 15th straight win, Babson is now 27-2, and advances to the sectional semifinals for the first time since 2002. Scranton, which was making its 26th NCAA Tournament appearance, concludes its season at 23-6.

Flannery was 6-of-12 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds, while Dean finished 6-of-11 from the field for the Beavers. Senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) scored 10 points to go along with a season-high 15 rebounds and four assists in the win.

Junior Brendan Boken (South Pasadena, Calif.) scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed six boards to lead the Royals. Senior Ross Danzig (Clarks Green, Pa.) scored 12 points to go along with a game-high five assists, while first-year Kevin Doolan (Basking Ridge, N.J.) added 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from three-point range.

Boken and Doolan scored Scranton's first 17 points, and the visitors made seven of its first 14 shots to build a 17-13 lead on a Boken layup with 8:48 to go in the first half. Wickey cut the Babson deficit to two on a jumper, and Dean followed with a three-pointer two possessions later to take an 18-17 lead.  Sophomore Charlie Rice (Barnstable, Mass.) scored five straight points late in the stanza, and the Green and White held the Royals to just one field goal over the final eight minutes of the half to take a 23-19 lead into the locker room.

Wickey scored on the Beavers' first possession of the second half, and Flannery sandwiched a three-pointer and a hoop in the paint around a transition layup by Dean to go in front 32-21 with 17:44 to play. Scranton got back to within eight on a free throw by sophomore John Vitkus (Mahopac, N.Y.), but Flannery scored six of Babson's next nine points, giving the hosts its biggest lead of the game at 41-29 with 10:09 to play.

The Royals responded with a 13-5 spurt, as Danzig and Boken combined for 10 points over the next four minutes to pull within 47-42 at the 6:02 mark. The Beavers locked down on the defensive end though, getting four straight stops and three free throws from Flannery to push its advantage back to 50-42 with 3:43 to play.

After the teams traded hoops, Doolan drained his final three-pointer of the night to cut the Beavers' lead to 52-47 with 2:05 left, but it's as close as Scranton would get. Both teams come up empty on its next two possessions before Dean buried a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left for the final margin.

The Green and White shot 44.7 percent (21-of-47) from the floor and outscored the Royals 34-16 in the paint. The Beavers also held a 37-23 edge on the glass.

Scranton was held to its second-lowest shooting percentage of the season (37.3), and went just 6-of-22 from beyond the arc.

Babson will take on 15th-ranked Johns Hopkins in the sectional semifinals at a site to be determined on Friday night.

GAME NOTES: With its 27th victory on Saturday night, Babson passed the 2002-03 team for the most victories in a season…the Beavers also tied the 1968-69 squad for the longest single-season winning streak in program history…Wickey's 15 rebounds are a Babson NCAA Tournament record…Babson is now 17-2 at home this season and has won 23 of its last 28 games at Staake Gymnasium over the last two years…the Beavers are also 20-1 when leading at the half…Babson is 23-0 this season and has won 30 consecutive games when outscoring its opponents at the free throw line…the Green and White is 24-1 on the year when outrebounding its opponent.