First-year Thomas Ferdinando (6'3''-G) (Andover, Mass.) poured in a game-high 27 points and second-seeded Babson College opened the second half with a 25-6 run on the way to defeating fourth-seeded Wheaton College, 81-56, in the NEWMAC Tournament final on Sunday afternoon inside Staake Gymnasium.
Babson, which has won nine consecutive games, improves to 21-6 overall while claiming its third NEWMAC Tournament championship in the last four seasons. The Beavers also punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time since 2020. Wheaton, which was playing in its first conference final since 2005, sees its season come to an end at 17-11.
Sophomore Timmy Mulvey (5'11''-G) (Reading, Mass.) scored 18 points, classmate Logan Murphy (6'4''-G) (Sandwich, Mass.) contributed 11 points, five rebounds and three assists, and NEWMAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, senior Timmy O'Toole (6'5''-G) (Milton, Mass.) posted his seventh double-double of the year with 10 points and 13 boards to go along with four assists to lead Babson. Fellow senior Tyler Lauder (6'7''-F) (Malvern, Pa.) made his only field goal attempt and grabbed 11 rebounds, while sophomore Ryan Frauenheim (5'9''-G) (Manasquan, N.J.) chipped in with eight points and six caroms in the victory.
Senior Tristan Herry (5'9''-G) (East Taunton, Mass.) scored 19 points and surpassed 1,000 career points late in the second half, while junior Dimetri Iafrate (5'10''-G) (Johnston, R.I.) provided 13 points, eight rebounds, four assists, and two steals to pace the Lyons.
The first 11 minutes of the contest featured four ties and six lead changes before the Green and White embarked on a 12-0 run to build a 14-point advantage. Ferdinando got the spurt started with two free throws, Murphy and Frauenheim drilled back-to-back three-pointers, and O’Toole and Ferdinando each converted a layup to give the hosts a 34-20 cushion with 4:28 to go in the first half.
Wheaton answered with 10 straight points and senior Sal Pedevillano (5'11''-G) (Parsippany, N.J.) buried a three-pointer in the closing seconds of the period to get within 36-33 at the break. Both teams scored on their opening possessions of the second half before Babson pulled away with a 14-2 burst that included seven points from Ferdinando to extend the difference to 52-37 at the 12:57 mark.
Herry stopped the bleeding momentarily with a bucket inside, but Frauenheim and Ferdinando splashed in back-to-back three-pointers to make it 61-39 with 9:29 remaining. Ferdinando went 1-of-2 at the free throw line and converted a driving layup, and Mulvey knocked down all three free throws to give the Beavers their largest lead of the afternoon at 67-41 with 5:58 left.
The Green and White shot 48.3 percent from the floor, which includes hitting 63 percent of its two-point attempts, while making 12 three-pointers. The Beavers also finished with a 45-27 edge on the glass. Wheaton shot just 33.9 percent from the floor and struggled from deep, going just 4-of-23 (17.4 percent).

Courtesy of newmacsports.com

All-Tournament MVP: Timmy O'Toole (6'5''-G) of Babson
Player of the Year: Justin Molen (6'7''-F) of WPI
Defensive Player of the Year: Timmy O'Toole (6'5''-G) of Babson
Rookie of the Year: Thomas Ferdinando (6'3''-G) of Babson
Coach of the Year: Sean Foster of Salve Regina

All-NEWMAC First Team 2026

Ferdinando

Mulvey

O'Toole

Seymour

Iafrate

Molen

Reidy

First Team
Thomas Ferdinando (6'3''-G) of Babson
Timmy Mulvey (5'11''-G) of Babson
Timmy O'Toole (6'5''-G) of Babson
Sean Seymour (6'4''-G) of Salve Regina
Dimetri Iafrate (5'10''-G) of Wheaton, MA
Justin Molen (6'7''-F) of WPI
Tim Reidy (5'10''-G) of WPI

All-NEWMAC Second Team 2026

Iscandari

John

Pridgen

Spenard

Farrell

Bledsoe

Second Team
Aliaun Iscandari (6'4''-G) of Clark
Boluwasefe John (6'8''-F) of Clark
Quentin Pridgen (6'4''-G) of Clark
Patrick Spenard (6'8''-F) of Salve Regina
Luke Farrell (6'6''-F) of Coast Guard
Nathan Bledsoe (6'2''-G) of WPI