BABSON PARK, Mass. (taken from a Babson College press release)
-- First-year Kwame Graves-Fulgham (Amherst, Mass.)
scored a game-high 21 points to lead the visiting Brandeis
University
Judges to a thrilling 76-74 victory over host Babson College in
non-conference men's basketball action on Tuesday night. It was
the
first loss of the season for the Beavers (3-1), while Brandeis
improved
to 3-2. The victory marks the first win for the Judges at Babson
since 1990-91 and their second in the last 14 meetings at any
site.
After Brandeis took a 33-32 lead into the break, Babson scored
the first
six points of the second half to go ahead, 38-33. The Beavers still
led
by five at 43-38 when the Judges rattled off a 13-0 run that
was
highlighted by six points from Graves-Fulgham. That gave Brandeis
its
largest lead of the game, 51-43, with 12:19 to go in
regulation.
Babson cut its deficit to two five times in the final four
minutes, but
the Judges would never relinquish the lead. With the visitors up
by
seven with just under two minutes to play, Babson senior CJ Enere
(Hyde
Park, Mass.) hit a driving lay-up and senior tri-captain Dan
Elliman
(Tewksbury, Mass.) followed with a huge three-pointer to pull
the
Beavers within a basket at 72-70. Babson then missed a trifecta on
its
next possession, and Brandeis first-year Florian Rexhepi
(Skopte,
Macedonia) sank a pair of free throws after being fouled on the
rebound
to give his team a 74-70 cushion with 22.8 seconds remaining.
After a Brandeis timeout, Elliman hit a lay-up in traffic to cut
it to
74-72 with 14.6 seconds on the clock, and Babson immediately
fouled
first-year Joe Coppens (Rockland, Mass.). The rookie guard then hit
both
freebies at the other end, pushing the Judges' advantage back to
four at
76-72. Babson first-year Kyle McDonald (Wethersfield, Conn.) came
right
back to hit a pull-up jumper for the Beavers with 7.7 seconds
remaining,
but Brandeis successfully ran out the clock to clinch the 76-74
victory.
Graves-Fulgham, who led all players with 21 points and six
assists, shot
10-for-15 from the floor to pace Brandeis. First-year Steve
DeLuca
(Merrimack, N.H.) added 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, while
senior
tri-captain Bryan Lambert (Auburn, Maine) collected a game-high
12
rebounds.
Babson was led by Elliman, who finished with 17 points, five
boards, and
three assists while shooting 8-for-13 from the field. Enere added
13
points, seven rebounds, and three helpers, and senior Jeff
Nicholson
(Methuen, Mass.) scored 13 points, grabbed five boards, and
blocked
three shots. First-year Greg Bush chipped in with 10 points for
Babson,
hitting 5-of-9 from the floor.