Feb. 21, 2007

Box Score

BABSON PARK, Mass. - Junior Grant Johnson (Grayson, Ga.) hit a school-record nine three-pointers to lead the seventh-seeded United State Coast Guard Academy to a stunning 70-66 upset of second-seeded Babson College in the quarterfinals of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Men's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday night. It was the first win by a seventh seed over a two in NEWMAC history, as the Bears (12-13) move on to play either #3 Springfield or #6 Wheaton in the semifinals at WPI on Saturday at 2 p.m. Meanwhile, Babson (16-10) sees its remarkable turnaround season come to a close.

Johnson finished with a game-high 33 points while hitting 9-of-14 from the field, including a Coast Guard record 9-of-12 clip from long range. Junior Jeff Prebeck (Columbus, Ind.) added 16 points on 7-of-11 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds for the Bears, who shot 51.0 percent (25-49) from the field in the win.

Babson was led by junior Kyle McDonald (Wethersfield, Conn.), who finished with 14 points and four steals, and senior co-captain Brandon Eigenberg (Milford, Conn.), who added nine points, six boards, four steals, and three assists in the final game of his outstanding career. Sophomore Zach Etten (Hollis, N.H.) tossed in 10 points, while junior Chris Bradley (Mount Vernon, N.Y.) netted nine.

Coast Guard closed the first half with an 18-4 run that turned a 19-19 tie into a commanding 37-23 halftime lead for the Bears. Johnson scored eight of his game-high 17 first-half points during the run, while Prebeck added five more. Junior Greg Bush (East Islip, N.Y.) paced Babson with five points at the break.

The Beavers threatened the Coast Guard lead several times in the opening eight minutes of the second stanza, but Johnson and the Bears answered with big shots on each occasion. A three-point play by Bradley cut the Coast Guard advantage to eight, 46-38, with 13:44 remaining, but Johnson responded with a three to push the advantage back to 11. Junior Chris Bilodeau (Hull, Mass.) later hit a fastbreak lay-up to cut Babson's deficit to nine, but Johnson again knocked down a clutch trifecta to put his team in front, 52-40, with 12 minutes on the clock.

Still trailing by eight with seven minutes left, Babson made one final push behind McDonald, who scored seven straight points during a 9-0 run that gave the Beavers their only lead of the second half, 62-61, with 4:43 remaining. First-year Frank Cheske (Thomaston, Conn.) then put Coast Guard back in front to stay with an offensive putback with 4:13 left, and the two teams traded empty possessions for the next three minutes.

Prebeck converted a three-point play at the one-minute mark to push the Bears' lead to four, 66-62, and Johnson later sank two free throws to make it 68-62 with 39 seconds remaining. Junior Brian MacDonald (Beverly, Mass.) got Babson back to within two with a pair of freebies with 28 seconds to go, and Bradley added a clutch jumper to make it a two-point game with 18 ticks left. However, Johnson drew the ensuing foul and knocked down two more free throws to ice the 70-66 Coast Guard victory.