No. 20 Babson Holds Off MIT, 81-69, For Second Consecutive NEWMAC Title - Feb 29, 2016

Junior Joey Flannery (6'5''-G/F) (Acton, Mass.) finished with 24 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Isaiah Nelsen (6'7''-F) (North Andover, Mass.) added 20 points and a career-high 16 boards as top-seeded Babson College outlasted MIT, 81-69, in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon at Staake Gymnasium.
No. 20 Babson (21-5) won its 11th straight game and claimed back-to-back league tournament championships for the first time since winning three straight Constitution Athletic Conference (CAC) crowns from 1991-93. The Beavers also earned the NEWMAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row. MIT (21-6) now must wait to see if it receives one of 19 at-large bids to the NCAA Tournament when the pairings are announced on Monday.
Sophomore Nick Comenale (6'3''-F) (New York Mills, N.Y.) scored 18 points to go along with seven rebounds for the Beavers.
Senior Justin Pedley (6'6''-G) (Kennewick, Wash.) scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half to lead the Engineers. First-year Bradley Jomard (6'6''-G-96) (Paris, France) added 16 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Ryan Frankel (5'11''-PG) (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points and five assists.
MIT made three of its eight first-half three-point field goals in the first five minutes and led 17-9 at the 14:56 mark. Babson responded with a 13-2 run, including eight straight points from Comenale, to take a 22-19 lead with 10:30 to play in the half. Pedley and first-year Cameron Korb (6'1''-G) (Los Gatos, Calif.) connected on back-to-back triples to spark a 13-6 burst that put the Engineers back in front 32-28 at the 6:41 mark, but the Beavers followed with a 9-2 run of their own to match their biggest lead of the period at 37-34 with 3:33 to go until halftime.
Pedley, who was 6-of-8 from distance in the first half, hit three late triples to give MIT a 43-39 lead at the break, and Jomard knocked down a pair of free throws to push the Engineers advantage to 47-39 less than a minute into the second half. Flannery ripped off eight straight points to pull the Green and White within one, and Nelsen followed with consecutive baskets to give Babson a 51-50 lead at the 16:11 mark.
The lead changed hands twice before Nelsen converted a three-point play to put the Beavers up for good at 57-54 with 12:26remaining. MIT twice got within one, but Comenale drilled a trey from the left corner and first-year Tyler Colon (6'6''-F) (Palos Verdes Peninsula, Calif.) knocked down two free throws to extend the advantage to 66-60 with just under six minutes to go.
Pedley drilled his seventh three-pointer of the game to cut the Engineers' deficit to three on the next possession, but two free throws from Nelsen and back-to-back hoops by junior Sam Bohmiller (5'10''-PG) (Franklin, Mass.) and Colon gave Babson a 72-63 edge with 2:27 left. The Green and White went 7-of-8 at the charity stripe over the final 65 seconds to ice the win.
The Beavers shot 43.8 percent (28-of-64), held a 45-36 edge on the glass and a 15-5 advantage in second-chance points.
MIT shot 41.3 percent (26-of-63) on the afternoon, but were just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc in the second half after going 8-of-13 over the opening 20 minutes.

Courtesy of NEWMAC Sports

NEWMAC Tournament Final: Babson - MIT 81-69
NEWMAC Tournament Semifinals:
Babson - Emerson 74-69
MIT - WPI 96-80