BOSTON—Sophomore Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) made his first eight shots and poured in a game-high 28 points as visiting Babson College cruised past Emerson College, 79-53, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Brown-Plofker Gymnasium.
With its third straight win, Babson is now 13-5 overall and 7-1 in conference play, while Emerson slips to 7-12 on the year and 2-6 in the NEWMAC.
Jacks finished 12-of-16 from the floor and added six rebounds and two assists, while junior Isaiah Nelsen (North Andover, Mass.) scored 17 points to go along with five boards, two assists and two steals. Classmate Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds in a season-low 23 minutes.
Senior Austin Pinckney (Miami, Fla.) scored 24 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead the Lions.
Babson trailed just once in the early going before using a 22-6 run to seize control of the game. Nelsen gave the Beavers an 11-10 lead with a three-point play at the 16:42 mark and Jacks exploded for 14 of the next 18 points to make it 29-16 just past the midway point of the opening half. The Green and White, which led by as many as 14 in the opening period, got four late points from junior David Stauffer (York, Pa.) to take a 38-25 edge into the locker room.
Emerson cut its deficit to 42-35 on a free throw by senior Michael Thorpe (Newton, Mass.) a little under four minutes into the second half, but Babson responded with an 11-2 run to push the lead back to 16. Four straight points by Flannery, a three-pointer by junior Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) and back-to-back hoops by Jacks and Nelsen gave the Beavers a comfortable 53-37 advantage with 12:18 to play.
The Lions closed to within 13 on a triple by Pinckney with 6:32 to go, but Babson closed the game with an 18-5 run.
The Green and White shot 53.3 percent (32-of-60) overall and connected on 71.7 percent of its two-point field goals, leading to a 36-18 edge in paint scoring. The Beavers also finished with a 37-29 edge on the glass and scored 21 points off of 15 Emerson turnovers.
The Lions shot a season-low 27.9 percent (17-of-61) and finished just 5-of-18 from downtown.
Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson hosts Wheaton at 7 p.m., while Emerson visits WPI at 6 p.m.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 18-2 all-time against Emerson and have swept the season series in each of the last three years.
• Flannery, who was held under 20 points for the first time since December 6, a stretch of 10 games, has now reached double figures in 30 straight contests going back to last season.
• Bohmiller has now made two three-point field goals in seven consecutive games going back to January 9
• The Beavers have won 15 consecutive conference road games and 20 straight Saturday games. Both streaks extend back to March 1, 2014.