BABSON PARK, Mass. – Babson College used a dominating first half to defeat visiting Wheaton College, 64-54, in a pivotal New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball game at Staake Gymnasium on Wednesday night. With the win, the Beavers (12-12 overall, 5-6 NEWMAC) need just one more win or a Clark loss in either of its final two games to secure a bid to the upcoming conference tournament.

With the loss, Wheaton moves to 11-12 overall and 4-7 in league play. The Lyons still hold a slim half-game lead over Clark for the fifth and final playoff spot with the Cougars' game against Springfield pending later tonight.

Babson was led by junior swingman Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.), who posted his first double-double of the season with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Sophomore Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) added 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from beyond the arc, and junior Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points. Playing in the final regular season home of his collegiate career, Beavers' senior captain Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) dished out a season-high 10 assists while also blocking two shots and adding two steals in the victory.

Wheaton received 13 points and five rebounds apiece from senior captain Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, R.I.) and first-year Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.), as well as 10 points and 13 boards from senior captain Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass.).

Babson combined hot shooting with a suffocating defensive effort to build a 40-20 lead in the first half of play. The Beavers shot 50.0 percent (15-30) from the field, including a 53.3 percent clip (8-15) from three-point range, while holding the Lyons to just 30.4 percent shooting (7-23) in the opening stanza.

After Wheaton grabbed its only lead of the contest on a Weeks three-pointer just 1:45 into the game, Babson took control with a 14-0 run that featured nine points from Palazini and five more from Rudolph. The Lyons finally got their second field goal of the contest on a lau-up by junior Scott Faucher (Lebanon, N.H.) with 11:43 to go in the half, but the Beavers continued to extend the lead with a 9-2 burst that resulted in a 25-7 advantage with eight minutes left. The hosts would eventually go up by as many as 23 before taking a comfortable 40-20 lead into the break.

Palazini led all players with 13 points in the first half, while Rudolph added eight points and seven rebounds. Weeks and Capstick each paced Wheaton with six points in the opening session.

The second half saw Wheaton chip away and eventually get to within 13 twice midway through the period, but on each occasion the Beavers used timely buckets to re-extend the lead to 17. The Lyons then used a 9-2 run that featured seven points from Capstick to cut their deficit to 10 at 59-49 with 1:55 remaining in the game, but that would be as close as the visitors would get the rest of the way. Babson twice pushed it back to a 13-point advantage before a Wheaton three at the buzzer accounted for the 64-54 final.

Both teams close out their regular season schedules on the road this Saturday. Babson heads to Coast Guard while Wheaton travels to Springfield. Both contests will begin at 1 p.m.

Prior to Wednesday night's game, a brief ceremony was held in honor of Florio and fellow senior Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine). During their four-year careers, the two have led the Beavers to a total of 45 victories and three straight bids to the NEWMAC Tournament, including an appearance in the conference semifinals in 2009.