BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Isaiah Nelsen (North Andover, Mass.) finished with career highs of 24 points and 15 rebounds to help 10th-ranked Babson College roll past visiting Elms College, 103-71, in non-conference men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.
With the victory, Babson is now 4-0 overall, while Elms drops to 1-4 on the year.
Nelsen went 12-of-15 from the floor and grabbed seven of his rebounds on the offensive end to lead the Beavers. Junior Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored 20 points to go along with five boards and five assists, while classmate David Stauffer (York, Pa.) added a career-high 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Sophomore Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) chipped in with 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and junior Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) scored 11 points and matched his career high with seven assists.
Senior Jerry Buchanon (Windsor, Conn.) and junior Joshua Brunson (Springfield, Mass.) each finished with 13 points to lead the Blazers.
The Green and White got 19 early points from the trio of junior Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.), Flannery and Nelsen to open a 21-4 lead just over six minutes into the contest. Elms, who got eight first-half points from Brunson, pulled within 28-15 at the 9:06 mark, but the Beavers scored on their next 12 possessions to build a 28-point lead with 2:57 remaining in the stanza.
Babson shot 65.7 percent in the opening period and took a 57-28 lead into the locker room after late buckets by Droney and Stauffer.
Flannery, Nelsen and Stauffer keyed a 14-7 spurt to open the half with four points apiece as the Green and White took its biggest lead of the game at 71-35 with 15:19 to play. The Blazers cut the hosts advantage to 85-57 on a pair of free throws by junior Symon Smith (Oklahoma City, Okla.) with 8:07 to play, but Nelson and Stauffer, who combined for 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting in the second half, sparked a 10-3 run that put Babson up 95-60 with under five minutes to play.
The Beavers, who shot 57.1 percent (40-of-70) for the game, outscored Elms 62-24 in the paint and finished with 19 second-chance points. The Green and White also held a 44-26 edge on the glass.
Babson returns to action on Tuesday when it travels to Becker at 4 p.m., while Elms visits Rhode Island College on December 1 at 7 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 3-0 all-time against Elms.
• The Green and White, which entered the week with the fifth longest home winning streak in the country, has won 15 straight games at Staake Gymnasium.
• Babson topped the 100-point mark for the first time since a 101-87 win over Salem State on December 8, 2013, and just the second time since the 1998-99 season.
• The Beavers, who are 12-1 in the month of November over the last three years, has won 29 of their last 30 games when grabbing more rebounds than their opponents.