BOX SCORE
BABSON PARK, Mass. – United States Coast Guard Academy
freshman John Benedict (Cumming, Ga.) scored 13 of his game-high 20
points in the second half to lead the Bears to a 62-54 comeback
victory over host Babson College in a New England Women's and
Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball
matchup at Staake Gymnasium on Thursday night. With the win, Coast
Guard improved to 7-6 overall and 2-1 in the conference, while the
loss dropped Babson's record to 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the
NEWMAC.
Benedict came off the bench to shoot 5-for-7 from the field and
9-for 11 from the free throw line for his game-best 20 points,
while senior Jevon James (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) added 16
points, six boards, and three blocked shots while hitting 6-of-7
from the floor. Freshman Devonte Weems (Chesapeake Beach, Md.)
chipped in with eight points, six rebounds, and three of the
Bears' 10 steals, as the visitors forced a total of 24
turnovers that led to 25 points. Coast Guard also shot 45.8 percent
from the floor, including an incredible 70.6 percent clip in the
decisive second half.
Babson was paced by senior captain Matt Zoia (Nashua,
N.H.), who continued his stellar play by hitting 5-of-8
from the field – including all three of his three-point
attempts – and 5-of-5 from the line for a team-high 18
points. Sophomore Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn,
N.Y.) added nine points, eight rebounds, and three blocks,
sophomore Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.)
contributed 10 points, three assists, and four steals, and
sophomore Peter Foley (Wells, Maine) chipped in
with eight rebounds off the bench.
Trailing by eight early in the second half, Coast Guard finally
pulled even at 33-33 with 16 minutes remaining thanks to an 8-0 run
that featured three points apiece from James and Benedict. The
teams then battled back and forth until the seven-minute mark, when
James hit two free throws to put the Bears in front to stay, 49-48.
Benedict followed with a conventional three-point play to make it
52-48 before knocking down two more from the stripe to complete the
8-0 run and give his team a 54-48 cushion with five minutes left to
play.
Facing their largest deficit of the game, the Beavers battled
back behind Zoia, who sank two free throws and then drained a long
three-pointer from the right side to pull his team back to within
one, 54-53, with 3:32 remaining. However, that would be as close as
the Beavers would get, as a free throw and a dunk by James and a
step-back jumper in the lane by senior captain Adam Radtke (Valley
City, Ohio) gave the visitors a 59-53 lead with just over a minute
left. Braithwaite hit 1-of-2 from the line to cut it back to five,
but the Bears hit three more freebies in the final 48 seconds to
finish off the 62-54 victory.
Coast Guard took its only lead of the first half just under two
minutes in, as Weems hit a jumper to give the visitors a brief 4-2
advantage. Babson then rattled off 10 straight points, including
back-to-back buckets by Rudolph, to move in front 12-4 with 14:19
remaining. The Bears would remain close, getting back to within one
after two free throws by Benedict made it 17-16 at the eight-minute
mark, but a 10-3 burst by the Beavers extended the lead back to
eight at 27-19. Babson eventually took a 29-23 edge into the locker
room thanks to a dunk at the buzzer by Braithwaite.
