Now off to the best start in school history, WPI struggled early on as Babson built a 19-10 lead with 6:02 remaining in the first half. The Engineers then answered with a quick 8-0 run to get back to within one, and they still trailed by a single point, 24-23, heading into the break.
Babson used a strong defensive effort to carry their lead through the first six minutes of the second period, as senior captain Brian Parsons’ (Queensbury, N.Y.) lay-up with 14:08 left gave the Beavers a 30-27 cushion. However, WPI would embark on a key 10-0 run over the next three minutes to take the lead for good, beginning with a conventional three-point play by sophomore Antoine Coleman (Everett, Mass.) with 13:56 on the clock. After a lay-up by sophomore Sean Ivey (Columbia, Md.) and a three-pointer by senior Ryan Flynn (Hamilton, Mass.), Coleman punctuated the run with an emphatic breakaway dunk that gave the Engineers a 37-30 lead with 11:14.
WPI would never relinquish its lead, which reached as high as 11 at 51-40 with 5:10 remaining. Babson refused to go quietly, though, staging a late run that cut the deficit to five, 51-46, with just over three minutes left. The Beavers still trailed by five when first-year Zach Etten (Hollis, N.H.) sank two clutch free throws with 42 ticks remaining to pull his team to within three at 54-51. That would be as close as Babson would get, however, as the Beavers managed just one Etten free throw in the final 40 seconds and WPI junior Ryan Cain (Webster, Mass.) added three freebies to seal the 57-52 win for the Engineers.
Coleman posted a double-double for WPI, netting 15 points and corralling 11 rebounds. Flynn also turned in an outstanding effort with 16 points and six boards, while Cain recorded 13 points and seven caroms. Senior Brian Steele (Whitinsville, Mass.) came up big as well for the Engineers, grabbing two key rebounds — one at each end of the floor — in the final 40 seconds of play.
Babson was led by the combination of Etten, who finished with 12 points and nine boards, and Parsons, who tossed in 11 points despite battling early foul trouble. Turning in one of Babson’s many strong defensive performance’s was sophomore Greg Bush (East Islip, N.Y.), who collected eight rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.