BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Colin Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) put back a miss with 0.4 seconds remaining to lift 23rd-ranked Babson College to an 86-84 win over visiting Emerson College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

With its third straight win, Babson improves to 15-3 overall and 5-2 in conference play, while Emerson slips to 11-7 overall and 4-3 in the NEWMAC.

Junior Andrew Jaworski (Tolland, Conn.) scored 26 points and first-year Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, Ill.) contributed a season-high 18 points to go along with four assists, three rebounds and three steals for the Beavers. Bradanese finished with 15 points, eight boards and a career-high five blocks, and junior Crew Ainge (Wellesley, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points and three assists in the win.

Sophomore Zach Waterhouse (Hampton, N.H.) scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting and led all players with six assists for the Lions. Classmate Jarred Houston (Norwood, Mass.) contributed 14 points on 7-of-7 shooting along with seven rebounds and five blocks, while senior Jack O'Connor (Newport, R.I.) and sophomore Nate Martin (Washington, D.C.) added 13 points apiece.

The Green and White trailed 52-43 at the half and were down by as many as 12 early in the second before embarking on a 20-8 run that included 15 points from Jaworski and Ainge to tie the game at 65-65 with 9:54 to play. Junior Matt Pattyson (Newtown, Pa.) buried a three-pointer one possession later to push Babson in front for the first time in the second half, beginning a stretch that saw the lead change hands eight times over the next three minutes.

Waterhouse followed a bucket by Martin with a hoop of his own to give the Lions a 77-74 edge with 5:21 to play, but the Beavers responded with a 6-0 burst that was capped by Kirkpatrick's driving layup to make it 80-77 at the 3:30 mark. Bradanese answered with a pair of scores after Emerson twice cut its deficit to one before O'Connor hit a deep triple to make it 84-84 with 1:14 to go.

Both teams came up empty on their ensuing possessions giving the Green and White the ball back with 28 seconds to go. Kirkpatrick's three-pointer from the left corner skimmed the side of the backboard and ended up in the hands of Bradanese, who drained a short jumper from the middle of the lane for the game winner.

Babson led by as many as seven in a first half that featured five ties and 10 lead changes before Emerson closed with a 10-0 run to take a 52-43 lead into the locker room. Waterhouse scored 21 points over the opening 20 minutes as the Lions knocked down seven three-pointers and shot 64.7 percent from the floor.

The Beavers shot 43.6 percent for the game and committed just six turnovers while scoring 24 points off of 21 Emerson miscues. The Lions shot 56.7 percent for the game and finished with a 40-29 edge on the glass.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson travels to Coast Guard at 1 p.m., while Emerson hosts MIT at 3 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 26-3 all-time against Emerson and has won 14 of the last 15 games between the teams since 2011.
• Babson is now 3-3 this season in games decided by five points or less.
• Wednesday's victory marked the second time in four conference home games this month that the Beavers have rallied from a double-digit second-half deficit to win.
• Babson matched its season high with nine blocked shots in the win.