Box Score

BABSON PARK, Mass.-The Babson College Men's Basketball team fell to Trinity College 72-71 on Sunday afternoon for their first loss on the season at Staake Gymnasium. Trinity was led by sophomore guard Brian Ford (Bronx, N.Y.) with 27 points and senior Aaron Westbrooks (Dublin, Ireland), who added twelve points for the Bantams. For the Beavers, senior forward Pat Belniak (Sutton, Mass.) led the team with nineteen points and eight rebounds. Senior captain Zach Etten (Hollis, N.H.) also shined with eleven points, nine rebounds, three assists, and four steals, as he became the 22nd player in program history to reach 1000 career points.

With the win, Trinity improves their overall record to 2-3 on the season, while Babson falls to 4-1.

For Trinity, Ford shot 10-for-12 from the floor,  five of which were three-pointers. He was also 2-for-2 from the free throw line, both of which came with just four seconds remaining to put the Bantams up by three. Eighteen of Ford's 27 points came in the second half.  Salah Abdo (Chelsea, Mass.) led the Bantams in rebounding with eight and also adding a team-high four assists.

For the Beavers, Belniak shot 6-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-7 from the line while collecting six offensive rebounds. Seven of Etten's team-high nine rebounds were on the defensive end and he also led the Beavers with four steals and three assists. First-year Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) added eleven points and four rebounds in defeat for Babson.

Babson took the early lead and controlled the game for the first eight minutes until Ford scored a three-pointer for the Bantams to tie the game at nine with just under twelve minutes to play in the first half. The Beavers got the momentum back with five minutes left in the half on a 7-0 run and were able to enter halftime up 36-29.

The Beavers kept the lead in the second half until Ford struck again with another three-pointer to put the Bantams up with just over eleven minutes left to play. In a thrilling game that featured four ties, and 7 lead changes, Trinity eventually led by five, 68-63, with just under three minutes remaining. Babson answered with four straight points to get to within one, but Abdo hit a jumper to push the Bantams' lead back to three with 21 ticks left. The Beavers once again got to within one point on a lay-up by first-year Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.), but Trinity sealed the win when Ford scored his two free throws to make it 72-69 with four seconds remaining. Babson missed a three before Belniak hit a lay-up as the buzzer sounded for the 72-71 final.

The Beavers take on visiting Brandeis on Tuesday, December 2nd at 8pm. Trinity will also play Tuesday night when they travel to Western Connecticut State University for a 7pm game.