Springfield, Mass. - February 10, 2016 - In a rematch of last year's New England Women's and Men's Atheltic Conference (NEWMAC) Championship, the Springfield College men's basketball team was defeated by Babson College, 68-64, on Wednesday night in Blake Arena.

With the setback, Springfield falls to 9-14, 5-6 in league play, while the Beavers, who were receiving votes in this week's d3hoops.com national poll, improve to 16-5, 10-1.

Josh Altman (Rockport, Mass.) poured in a team-best 22 points, while Josh Downes (East Sandwich, Mass.) tallied 18 points.  Quinn McKenna (Litchfield, Conn.) chipped in eight points off the bench and Larry Piretra (Oakland, N.J.) pulled down a team-best seven boards.

Two-time defending NEWMAC Player of the Year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) netted a game-high 23 points and 11 boards as he went 11-for-11 from the charity stripe.  Both Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) and Isaiah Nelsen (North Andover, Mass.) scored 12 points and Nick Comenale (New York Mills, N.Y.) produced nine points, six boards, and three assists.

Babson went 19-for-20 from the free throw line, while the Pride connected on 13-of-14 attempts.  Babson held a 42-27 edge on the glass, outscored the Pride 34-18 in the paint, and held a 17-3 edge in second chance points.  Springfield finished the game shooting 23-for-56 (41.1%) and scored 13 points off nine Babson turnovers.

The Beavers jumped out to an early 6-0 lead just 3:31 into the contest, before the Pride climbed back to within a pair, benefitting from four-straight points from Downes to make it 8-6, Babson, just 5:39 in.

Springfield kept it a four-point game following a lay-up from Downes with 11:57 left, but Babson would answer with five unanswered points of its own, including a lay-up from Charlie Rice (Barnstable, Mass.) to make it 19-10, Beavers, with 10:49 left in the stanza.

A free-throw from Nelson with 7:33 left in the first half gave Babson a 12-point lead, but Springfield would hang tough, narrowing its deficit to six following a three-pointer from McKenna to make it 30-24, Babson, with 1:41 to go. After another lay-up from Nelsen, followed by a jumper from Flannery to give the Beavers an eight-point lead with 47 seconds left in the frame, McKenna drilled another triple to send the Pride into halftime trailing 34-29.

A pair of three-pointers from Altman to open the second half, followed by a deep jumper from Brandon Eckles (East Sandwich, Mass.) pulled the Pride even at 43 apiece just 3:59 into the period. Sophomore guard Andy McNulty (West Springfield, Mass.) would then cash in on a pair of free-throws on the ensuing possession to give the Pride its first lead of the game, 45-43.

A drive and finish from Altman with 12:54 left in the contest helped the Pride retain its two-point lead, before a pair of free-throws from Stanley Davis (Boston, Mass.) converted a pair of free-throws to give Springfield a 53-47 lead with 11:31 to go. 

A three-point play from Flannery cut Babson's deficit to two with under seven minutes to go, before a corner three by Comenale gave the Beavers a 57-56 lead with under five left in the game. Following a deep two from Downes, Flannery converted a pair of free-throws to give Babson back a one-point, 59-58 lead with 4:03 left.

With 2:39 left, Nelsen converted a three-point play of his own to extend the Beavers' lead to four, before an offensive rebound and put-back basket from Piretra made it a two-point game, giving Babson a 66-64 lead with 49 seconds on the clock.  Springfield would force a miss and Downes would get fouled on the ensuing possesion.  However, after having made his last 28-straight free throws over the last three-games, Downes missed the front end, and Flannery knocked down a pair of free-throws with 10 seconds remaining to seal the 68-64 victory.  All told, Babson connected on all nine of their free throws in the final 4:02.

Springfield will now gear up for an important NEWMAC game on Saturday when it hosts Emerson at 2:00 pm.