Coast Guard (3-20) refused to be intimidated early on, as the Bears jumped out to a 19-11 lead in the first 10 minutes of play behind 10 early points from sophomore forward Dan Sheppard (El Cajon, Calif.). However, Babson responded with an 11-3 run over the next seven minutes, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from junior guard Phil Riffe (Newton, Mass.), as the Beavers evened the contest at 22-22 with 4:20 left in the first half. The two teams eventually entered the break knotted at 27-27.
Babson began the second half with an 11-4 spurt, as senior co-captain Luke Weber (Highland Mills, N.Y.) scored seven points and junior guard CJ Enere (Hyde Park, Mass.) added the other four to give the Beavers a 38-31 advantage with 16:18 remaining. The home team would later take its largest lead of the contest at 55-42 when senior co-captain Jeff Hines (Waltham, Mass.) knocked down a pull-up jumper from the right baseline with 7:40 left in regulation.
The Bears would get back to within eight twice over the next three minutes, but each time Babson had an answer. After Sheppard sank two free throws to cut Coast Guard’s deficit to 55-47, sophomore forward Brian Parsons (Queensbury, N.Y.) responded with a turnaround jumper on the left block to push the Beavers’ lead back to double-digits. Sheppard then hit two more free throws at the other end, but Enere came back with a short jumper, putting Babson in front, 59-49, with 5:17 on the clock.
With Babson holding a nine-point edge at 60-51, Sheppard made one final attempt to pull his team back into the contest when he put back an offensive rebound with 3:20 remaining. However, Weber effectively put the game away on the Beavers’ next possession, as he scored off a post-move in the paint to give his team a 62-53 cushion. Riffe would add a breakaway lay-up with 1:14 left and a free throw with 38 seconds on the clock to seal the 65-53 Babson victory.
Weber and Enere each finished with 13 points in the win for the Beavers, while Hines added 12 points. Enere also had a big defensive game for Babson, as he grabbed five rebounds and recorded a game-high six steals. Riffe chipped in with 10 points and junior forward Brooks Brown (Cleveland, Ohio) pulled down five boards for the Beavers, who hit 15 of 29 from the floor while forcing 15 turnovers in the second half.
Sheppard had a monster game in defeat for Coast Guard, as he led all players with 22 points and 11 rebounds. The sophomore forward connected on 7-of-14 from the floor and 8-of-11 from the free throw line, while also blocking four shots. Junior guard Peter Gavin (Yakima, Wash.) scored 11 points and first-year center Kevin Edes (Bedford, N.H.) added 10 points and eight rebounds in the loss.