Box Score Springfield, Mass. - February 11, 2015 - The Springfield College men's basketball team had its six-game winning streak snapped on Wednesday evening after it dropped a 76-57 decision to nationally-ranked Babson College at Staake Gymnasium.
The game pitted two of the top teams in the region according to the NCAA Regional Rankings, which were released on Wednesday. Babson entered the game ranked No. 2 in the Northeast, while the Pride checked in at No. 7.
With its eighth straight win, Babson, which is ranked eighth in the D3Hoops.com national poll, is now 20-2 overall and 10-1 in NEWMAC play. Springfield drops to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in the league.
Senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) and sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) both scored 19 points as the Beavers shot 63.6 percent on the night. to pull away from visiting Springfield College, 76-57, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night
Wickey went 6-of-9 from the floor and 7-of-8 at the free throw line, while Flannery finished 7-of-14 from the field to go along with six rebounds and a team-high four assists for the Beavers. Sophomore Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) added 10 points, senior Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) finished with nine, and classmate David Mack (Holden, Mass.) contributed five points, a game-high eight boards, and three assists in the win.
Senior Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) scored 16 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out four assists to lead the Pride. Junior Alex Garstka (Westfield, Mass.) added 15 points, all in the second half, on 5-of-6 shooting, in just 13 minutes of action.
Leading 9-8 at the 14:24 mark, Babson outscored Springfield 13-4 over the next seven minutes to build a 10-point lead. Wickey and Flannery combined for three free throws to make it 12-8, and sophomore Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) followed with a runner to push the lead to six. A jumper by senior Nick Sienkiewicz (Cranston, R.I.) cut the Pride's deficit to 16-12, but two hoops by Flannery and another from Droney gave the Beavers their biggest lead of the stanza at 22-12 with 7:25 to go until halftime.
Springfield, despite missing 16 of its first 21 shots, pulled within 29-24 on a layup by Martin with 2:10 left in the stanza. Wickey answered with a pair of free throws and a reverse layup before junior Larry Piretra (Oakland, N.J.) knocked down a jumper just before the buzzer to cut Babson's lead to 33-26 at the break.
Leading 42-34 following a layup by Pride first-year
Brandon Eckles (East Greenwich, R.I.), the Green and White put the game away with a decisive 17-6 run. The Beavers scored on five consecutive possessions, including six points from first-year Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) to push their lead to 52-37 at the 11:24 mark. Flannery then scored Babson's next seven points, including a deep pull-up trey from the top of the key with the shot clock running down to make it 59-40 with 7:19 remaining in the contest.
Flannery converted a feed from Mack to make it a 21-point game with just over five minutes to play, and Bohmiller added five straight points, including a three-point play, to give Babson is largest lead of the night at 70-46 with 3:48 to go.
The Beavers went 28-of-44 from the field and held a 44-28 edge in paint scoring. They also shot 89.5 percent (17-of-19) at the free throw line, and outrebounded Springfield, 29-21.
The Pride shot 40 percent (20-of-50) on the night, but struggled from deep, knocking down just four of its 14 three-point field goal attempts.
Springfield will play again on Saturday when it travels to square off with Emerson at 3:00 pm.
