SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Senior center Ryan Coburn scored 12 points and added 10 blocks and freshman guard Nick Sienkiewiz and sophomore forward Robbie Burke both added 10 points to lead the Springfield College men's basketball team to a 61-49 New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) victory over Babson College this evening at SC's Blake Arena.

With the win, the Pride raises its record to 10-5 overall, 2-1 in the NEWMAC, while the Beavers fall to 8-7 overall, 1-2 in the conference.

Each team pulled down 40 rebounds, committed just nine turnovers, and made three 3-pointers.

The difference in field goal percentage proved to be the decisive factor, as Springfield shot .429 from the floor (24-of-56) while Babson could only shoot .279 from the field (17-of-61).

Junior forward Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led Babson with 11 points and eight rebounds. He was followed by junior guard Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) with eight points and five rebounds. Three Beavers added seven points. They were junior guard Alex Rudolph (Bel Harbour, Fla.), freshman forward John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.), and freshman center David Mack (Holden, Mass.).

After a back-and-forth start, Springfield used a 9-3 run midway through the first half to open up a 12-point lead. That came after a terrific finish inside by Burke with 7:27 on the clock, forcing the Beavers into a timeout.

Over the next 5:30, Babson's defense locked up the Pride, allowing the visitors to get within four following a David Mack layup. That made the score 28-24 with 1:52 on the clock. The Pride entered the half up seven, 31-24, and closed out the stanza with a highlight-reel play. Junior guard Alex Berthiaume connected with Burke in transition on a behind-the-back pass, only to have Burke hit Sienkiewicz with another behind-the-back pass, which he finished for the conventional three-point play.

As a team, Springfield shot 41.9% in the first half (13-31) and outrebounded the visitors 23-16.

In the second half, Springfield would maintain mostly a single-digit lead over the first 16 minutes of that period. With 18:03 left, after a Coburn lay-up, SC led by nine, 33-24. But with 12:49 left, after a pair of Mack free throws, the Beavers had cut it to three, 35-32.

Springfield led anywhere from five to 11 points over the next seven minutes or so. With 4:23 left, after a Braithwaite lay-up, the lead was at seven, 51-44. But Springfield scored the next six points -- on a lay-up by sophomore guard Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) with 4:05 left, a lay-up by Coburn with 3:15 left, and another lay-up by Martin with 2:56 left, and suddenly SC led by 13 (57-44). The Pride would lead by as many as 14 points on two free throws by Martin with 1:56 left. A lay-up by senior captain Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) for Babson closed the scoring.

 NOTE: Taken from a Springfield College press release.