Babson dominated the opening stanza, scoring the first 13 points of the contest on their way to an eventual 41-18 advantage. Salem State would later close the period with an 8-2 run, as the Beavers took a 43-26 lead into the half. Babson shot 58.6 percent from the field in the opening stanza, including a torrid 46.7 percent clip (7-of-15) from long range.
The home team continued to maintain a comfortable advantage through the first three minutes of the second half, as junior Brooks Brown (Cleveland, Ohio) knocked down a three-pointer to give the Beavers a 52-33 edge with 16:47 remaining. However, Salem State came roaring back over the next two and a half minutes, hitting five consecutive jumpers as part of a 13-2 run that cut their deficit to just eight, 54-46, with 14:12 left. Brown then answered with his second trifecta of the game to push the Beavers lead back to double-digits, and the Vikings would get no closer than 10 the rest of the way as Babson held on for the 77-65 victory.
Coming off a career-high 27-point performance against WPI on Tuesday, senior co-captain Luke Weber (Highland Mills, N.Y.) was once again on fire for Babson, scoring a team-high 23 points while shooting 11-for-16 from the field. Junior CJ Enere (Hyde Park, Mass.) also shot well in the win, hitting 7-of-10 from the floor, including 3-of-5 from long range, for 20 points. Brown added a season-high 12 points for the Beavers, and senior co-captain Jeff Hines (Waltham, Mass.) dished out a game-high five assists.
Salem State was paced by sophomore Shawn Bloom (Springfield, Mass.), who led all players with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Junior Allen Reid (Southbridge, Mass.) added 15 points and first-year Ramon Cruz (Worcester, Mass.) tossed in 13 for the Vikings, who were outrebounded in the contest, 38-29.