SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Senior Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) scored 24 of his game-high 35 points in the second half and overtime as 15th-ranked Springfield College held on to defeat 22nd-ranked Babson College, 84-78, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside Blake Arena.

Babson, which closes the regular season at 20-5 overall and 10-4 in conference play, will be the third seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament. Springfield captured its second regular-season conference title in the last three years and close the regular season at 22-3 overall and 13-1 in league play.

Senior Jack Coolahan (Newtown, Pa.) knocked down seven three-pointers and finished with 31 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals to lead the Beavers. Sophomore Colin Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) went 8-of-11 from the floor and posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, while junior Crew Ainge (Wellesley, Mass.) dished out a game-high seven assists in the loss.

Ross went 10-of-17 from the floor and 13-of-17 at the free throw line while pulling down a game-high 14 rebounds for the Pride. Senior Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) added 20 points and 10 rebounds, while fellow senior Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) came off the bench to score 12 points.

The Green and White got back-to-back three-pointers from Coolahan to open its biggest lead of the game at 31-24 with 4:04 to play in the first half. Springfield pulled within one with 13 seconds left in the period, but Bradanese beat the buzzer with a jumper and then scored on the opening possession of the second half to extend Babson's advantage back to 37-32.

The Pride took a 46-45 advantage, its first of the second half, with 10:26 left, and the lead changed hands six times over the next six minutes before Ainge buried a jumper to tie the game at 58-58. Bradanese offset two free throws by Ross with 4:04 to go and Coolahan followed with five straight points to put Babson back in front 65-62 at the 2:36 mark.

Ainge canned two free throws with 18.8 seconds left to make it 69-66, but Costa grabbed the rebound of an errant three-pointer by Witter and found Ross all alone at the top of the key for a triple that tied the game with 4.3 seconds, sending the game to overtime.

The Beavers knocked down their first six free throws of the extra session to go up 75-73 with 2:35 left, but Witter drilled a three-pointer and Post went 2-of-2 at the charity stripe to give the Pride a 78-75 edge with 1:05 remaining. Ainge tied the game with a left-wing three-pointer on the ensuing possession only to see Ross answer with a pair of free throws to make it 80-78 with 29 ticks left. Babson had a pair of opportunities to pull even on its next trip but twice went 0-of-2 at the free throw line allowing Springfield to put the game away with late fouls shots by Ross and Post.

The Green and White shot 41.2 percent from the floor and prior to the final minute of overtime had made 13 of its first 14 free throws. The Pride shot 40.7 percent from the floor and outscored the Beavers 32-13 at the charity stripe in addition to finishing with a 42-36 edge on the glass.

Both teams will return to action next Friday at 7 p.m. as Babson travels to second-seeded WPI, while Springfield hosts either fourth-seeded Emerson or fifth-seeded Coast Guard in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 25-42 all-time against Springfield and were swept in the regular season by the Pride for the first time since 2011.
• Seven of the last 10 games between the teams have been decided by six points or less.
• Saturday's loss was just the second for Babson over its last eight games inside Blake Arena.
• The Beavers are 2-2 this season in overtime games.