BOX SCORE
AMHERST, Mass. – The 20th-ranked Amherst College
men's basketball team won its eighth straight game to open
the season this evening, defeated Babson College (4-5) by a score
of 104-72 in non-conference action.
Amherst started the game on a 9-2 run, but Matt
Zoia and Alex Rudolph scored back-to-back
buckets for Babson to close the gap to three points. Amherst
responded with consecutive three-pointers from junior Taylor
Barrise (Allendale, NJ) to take a 17-9 lead.
At the 11:19 mark, Jeff Holmes (Saunderstown, RI) made a pair of
free throws coming out of a Babson timeout to put Amherst up 10
points. The Jeffs got another pair of triples from guards Conor
Meehan (Meriden, CT) and Aaron Toomey (Greensboro, NC) on either
side of the ten-minute mark to take a 26-14 lead.
Amherst's lead grew to 13 points, but just before the
seven-minute mark Babson's Russell
Braithwaite finished off a three-point play to close the
gap to single digits at 31-22. Amherst then scored five points in a
row, before Babson responded with a 9-0 scoring run capped by a
three from Zoia. With the lead down to five, Barrise hit his fourth
three of the first half from the left corner.
Barrise and David Waller (Tampa, FL) drilled Amherst's
ninth and tenth triples of the half, stretching the Lord Jeff
advantage back to 45-33 with 1:45 to play in the frame. The Jeffs
were able to hold onto an 11-point edge heading into the locker
room up 48-37.
Barrise finished the first half 6-for-9 from the floor,
including 5-of-8 from three-point land, for 17 first-half points to
lead the Jeffs. Waller chipped in with nine points in the half.
Babson was led at the break by 11 points from Zoia and nine points
from Matt Florio.
Amherst started the second half on a 10-2 run over the first
2:39, with Waller forcing Babson into calling a timeout with an
emphatic breakaway dunk. Coming out of the stoppage, Barrise
drained his sixth three of the night. At the 13:48 mark,
Barrise hit another triple, bringing his game total to 7-of-10 from
long range.
A Workman three ball with 13:21 to play put Amherst on top
72-44, forcing the Beavers into another timeout as the Jeffs had
opened the half on a 24-7 run. Amherst's lead grew to 30
points with 12:49 remaining, and it never dropped below 22 points
again.
Barrise finished with a team-high 23 points in the win, while
Waller added 18 points in just 18 minutes of action. In his last
three games, Barrise has shot 18-for-27 (.667) from three-point
range. Zoia led the Beavers with 22 points in the loss, while
Florio chipped in with 13 points.
NOTE: Taken from an Amherst College press release.
