Babson took a 28-23 lead into the break, thanks to seven first-half points from senior Jeff Nicholson (Methuen, Mass.) and first-year Greg Bush (East Islip, N.Y.). Bush then began the second half with a lay-up to push the Beavers’ lead to seven, but Tufts responded with a 26-4 run over the next nine minutes to build a 49-34 advantage with 10:29 remaining. Seven different players scored for the Jumbos during the stretch, including sophomore Brian Kumf (Milford, Mass.), first-year Ryan O’Keefe (Everett, Mass.), and senior tri-captain Reggie Stovell (Washington, D.C.), who each netted five points apiece.
Facing its largest deficit of the night, Babson clawed its way back into the game behind the play of first-year Kyle McDonald (Wethersfield, Conn.), who scored 10 second-half points to help the Beavers get back to within six, 57-51, with 6:10 left to play. The Beavers would later cut the Jumbos’ lead to just four on a conventional three-point play by senior CJ Enere (Hyde Park, Mass.) with 30.1 seconds left in regulation, but Shepherd and O’Keefe each sank a pair of free throws in the final 29 seconds to seal the 77-69 win.
Tufts shot extremely well in the second half, hitting 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field and 90.0 percent (18-for-20) from the free thrown line. Shepherd hit 11-of-13 from the stripe, including 10-of-11 in the second half, on his way to a game-high 17 points, while Stovell added 16 points and nine rebounds. Kumf finished with 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and junior Brian Fitzgerald (Bedford, N.H.) grabbed a game-high 12 boards.
Nicholson and Enere each finished with 15 points to lead Babson, while Nicholson also added six rebounds and four blocked shots. McDonald recorded a career-high 10 points in the loss, while sophomore Rory Caslin (Dartmouth, Mass.) gave the Beavers a much-need spark off the bench late in the first half, scoring four points and taking a key charge at the defensive end. Babson has now lost back-to-back games for just the second time since the 2000-2001 season.