BOX SCORE

WATERVILLE, Maine - First-year Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) had 14 of his game-high 24 points in the second half as Babson College battled from behind for an 86-83 win over Thomas College on the opening day of the Colby College Invitational on Friday night at Wadsworth Gymnasium.

Babson (5-2) will play Colby College in the title game at 2 p.m. Saturday. The Mules took a 111-40 win over University of Maine at Augusta in the other game. Thomas (1-5) will play UMaine-Augusta in the consolation game at noon.

Andrew Duncanson (Portland, Maine) had 16 of his team-high 22 points in the opening half to lead the Terriers to a 37-31 halftime lead. Thomas led much of the second half, including a 63-50 advantage with 9:41 remaining, but Edwards and senior captain Zach Etten (Hollis, N.H.) caught fire late to help the Beavers get back into the game. Babson eventually pulled ahead, 73-72, on a three-pointer by sophomore Shelton Ladson (New York, N.Y.) - the first of four lead changes in the final six minutes.

After an Etten trifecta gave the Beavers an 82-77 cushion with three minutes left, Thomas netted six straight points to take its final lead of the contest, 83-82, with 1:37 on the clock. Edwards then nailed a jumper to put Babson in front to stay with 1:14 remaining, and senior Pat Belniak (Sutton, Mass.) added a key offensive rebound and putback with 24 ticks left to give the Beavers the hard-fought 86-83 victory.

Edwards shot 11-for-18 from the field for his game-high 24 while also collecting six rebounds. Etten finished with 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three blocked shots. Babson also received 12 points apiece from Ladson and Belniak. First-year Lambros Papalambros (Quincy, Mass.) added nine points and six assists.

Duncanson also had eight rebounds and four assists for Thomas. Darrell Alexander (Fairfield, Texas) had 15 points and Michael Burchill (Saco, Maine) finished with 13 for Thomas.

NOTE: Portions of this story taken from a Colby College press release.