LECEISTER, Mass.—Junior Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) scored 21 of his game-high 28 points in the second half as 10th-ranked Babson College held on to defeat Becker College, 70-65, in non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday afternoon at Leicester Gymnasium.
With its fifth straight victory, Babson (5-0) extended the longest road winning streak in Division I, II or III to 16 games, while Becker falls to 0-4 on the year.
Flannery was 10-of-19 from the floor and 8-of-9 at the free throw line to go along with 10 rebounds, three steals and two assists. Fellow junior Isaiah Nelsen (North Andover, Mass.) added 10 points, seven boards and a career-high six assists for the Beavers. Sophomore Bradley Jacks(Fort Washington, Md.) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds, while junior Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) contributed seven points and four assists.
Sophomore Samuel Durodola (Rosedale, N.Y.) posted a double-double with 22 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Hawks.
The Green and White used a 10-0 run to build a 17-7 lead on a three-point play by Nelsen midway through the first half. Sophomore Nick Comenale (New York Mills, N.Y.) drilled a three-pointer to make it 23-15 with 6:49 to play in the first half, but Becker responded with a 14-4 run to go in front 29-25 on a bucket by senior Rashuan Liggon (Elizabeth, N.J.) with 2:08 left. Jacks and Flannery connected on back-to-back buckets to help Babson pull even at 29-29 just before halftime.
Following two ties and four lead changes over the first nine minutes of the second half, the Beavers used a 12-2 run to take the lead for good. Flannery and Nelsen combined for all 12 points during the spurt that saw the Green and White match its biggest lead of the game at 62-52 on a layup by Nelsen with 7:36 remaining.
The Hawks pulled within one twice over the final three minutes, the last time coming at 64-63 following a layup by Durodola, but Flannery connected on a jumper in the paint to give the Beavers a 66-63 edge with 51 seconds to go. Flannery also went 4-for-4 from the line in the final 10 seconds to seal the win.
The Beavers shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the floor and held a 34-28 edge on the glass, while Becker shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) and scored 15 points off 12 Babson turnovers.
The Beavers return to action on Sunday when they travel to Bowdoin at 2 p.m., while the Hawks visit Brandeis next Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• Babson is now 4-1 all-time against Becker, although its last three victories have come by a total of eight points.
• The Beavers have won 28 straight games when scoring at least 60 points.
• The Green and White has won 29 consecutive games when outscoring its opponents at the free throw line.
• With 28 points on Tuesday, Flannery (1,312) became just the 12th player in program history to surpass 1,300 points.