WORCESTER – Junior Joey Flannery (Acton, MA) poured in a game-high 33 points – including 17 in the first half – to lead Babson to a 75-71 overtime victory over host No. 12 WPI Wednesday in a NEWMAC men's basketball matchup at Harrington Auditorium. 

The Beavers (9-4, 3-0 NEWMAC), who are receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, secure their first OT win in four chances this season while also snapping the Engineers (12-2, 2-1 NEWMAC) five-game winning streak. 

Flannery, the reigning NEWMAC Player of the Week and D3hoops.com Team of the Week selection, scored nine of Babson's first 11 points and surpassed 1,500 for his career in the first five minutes of action. 

Trailing by 20 (52-32) with 13:15 left in regulation, junior Sean Doncaster (Medford, MA) began a Crimson and Gray 13-3 spurt to bring the game within nine with 7:40 showing on the scoreboard. The rally also saw senior Clyde Niba (Atlanta, GA) can back-to-back treys. Sophomore Chris Rodgers (Franklin, MA) sank a triple and later converted a three-point play to help bring the Engineers within one (59-58) with 3:07 remaining in the second half. Niba again hit consecutive shots from downtown as the first tied the game for the fifth time and his second put the hosts ahead 64-61 with just over 30 seconds left in the frame. Flannery went to the line twice down the stretch and sank all four free throws. In between the junior's trips to the charity stripe, Doncaster made the front end of a pair of freebies. 

Sophomore Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, MD) opened the extra session with a jumper 16 seconds in and Flannery added a layup 50 seconds later as the Beavers never looked back. Junior Ian Converse (Woodstock, CT), sophomore Aaron Todd (York, ME) and Rodgers each brought the game within a pair. After Rodgers' layup with 19 ticks remaining, a foul put the ball back in the Engineers possession. Looking to capitalize, Niba took a long three. Jacks hauled in the defensive rebound and sealed the game with a pair of free throws.   

Todd and Converse teamed up to give the Engineers a six-point advantage nearly three minutes into the contest.  In all, the first half saw eight lead changes and four ties before junior Isaiah Nelsen's (North Andover, MA) jumper put the Beavers ahead with 4:30 remaining until the break. 

Babson went on to build a nine-point cushion following a conventional three-point play by junior David Stauffer (York, PA) with 1:39 left in the half. Todd capped the scoring with a layup 26 seconds later as the Beavers headed into the locker room with a 33-26 lead. 

Niba finished with a WPI-best 21 points, including five 3-pointers, to go along with two rebounds, two blocks, two steals and an assist. Doncaster flirted with a triple-double as he scored 10 points and tallied career-highs of nine assists and seven rebounds. He was also credited with three swipes. Todd added 12 points and six boards as Rodgers pitched in with 10 points and tied his career-best with seven caroms. Converse and sophomore Obi Obiora (Boston, MA) each scored seven points and combined for nine rebounds. 

Flannery registered seven rebounds, doled out five assists and shared game-high honors with three steals in addition to his 33 points. Jacks, Stauffer and junior Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, MA) each scored 10 for the Beavers as Jacks, Nelson and junior Charlie Rice (Barnstable, MA) pulled down five rebounds apiece. 

The Engineers had a 40-30 advantage off the glass while each team turned the ball over 16 times. WPI also led in points in the paint (32-26), second chance points (7-5), fast break points (2-0) and bench points (19-18). Babson scored 22 of the 42 points off turnovers. Twenty-six of the Beavers 30 rebounds were on defense. 

WPI heads to Boston Saturday for a 2pm meeting with Emerson.  Babson concludes a brief two-game road trip the same day at Wheaton at 3pm.