Box Score Recap courtesy of Babson College
BABSON PARK - Sophomore Joey Flannery poured in 20 of his game-high 31 points in the second half to help Babson College hold off Tufts University, 68-63, in the opening round of the New England Big 4 Challenge on Saturday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.
With its fifth straight win, Babson (6-1) advances to the Big 4 Challenge championship game for the second consecutive season. Tufts, which has dropped three straight contests, falls to 2-5 on the year.
Flannery went 13-of-14 from the free throw line to go along with seven rebounds and a game-high five steals. Senior John Wickey scored 17 points, including a 10-of-13 effort from the free throw line, and grabbed seven boards while playing all 40 minutes. First-year Bradley Jacks scored a career-high 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting for the Beavers.
Sophomore Tom Palleschi finished with 20 points on 8-of-13 shooting to lead the Jumbos. Classmate Hunter Sabety recorded his second straight double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, while junior Ryan Spadaford chipped in with 11 points off the bench.
The Green and White led by as many as six in the early going and tied the game at 19-19 with 5:02 left in the stanza before Tufts ripped off a 10-0 run to take its biggest lead of the game. Sophomore Tarik Smith started the spurt with a three-point play and Spadaford drilled a trey to make it 29-19 with 1:42 remaining. Wickey buried a three-pointer on the following possession and Flannery scored the final five points off the period to help the Beavers cut their deficit to 31-27 going to the locker room.
Babson scored on its first three possessions of the second half to tie the game at 33-33 and took its biggest lead of the second half at 46-41 on a jumper by Jacks with 10:51 to go in the game. The Jumbos responded though, as senior Ben Ferris knocked down a triple and Palleschi drilled a jumper two possessions later to go back in front 55-54 with 4:05 to go.
Flannery answered with a three-pointer on the Beavers' next possession, and Wickey knocked down a pair at the free throw line to give the hosts a 59-55 edge with 3:02 remaining. Wickey made 1-of-2 from the line on Babson's next trip, but Spadaford answered with a pair from the charity stripe on the other end as Tufts cut its deficit to just 60-59 with 2:09 left. The Green and White responded with its biggest hoop of the night on the ensuing possession though, as senior David Mack rebounded his own miss and converted a layup over Palleschi as the shot clock expired to make it a three-point game at the 1:31 mark.
Flannery pushed the margin to five by knocking down two free throws with 43 seconds to play. The teams traded free throws before Ferris cut the Jumbos' deficit to 66-63 with three seconds to play. Following a timeout Flannery received the inbounds pass and sealed the win for Babson with two more free throws.
The Beavers shot 35.7 percent (20-of-56) from the floor and shot a season-high 80.6 percent (25-of-31) at the line. They also held a 42-34 edge on the glass and outscored Tufts 32-26 in the paint.
The Jumbos shot 42.9 percent (24-of-56) on the afternoon and went 5-of-12 from three-point range.
Babson will take on Salem State in the championship game for the second consecutive year on Sunday at 3 pm, while Tufts will face Brandeis in the consolation game at 1 pm.
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