Men's Basketball at Salve Regina
Saturday, November 13 | 1 p.m.
Rodgers Recreation Center | Newport, R.I.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 10-2 all-time against Salve Regina in a series that dates back to the 1982-83 campaign.
• The Beavers have won the last six meetings between the teams but have faced the Seahawks just four times since 2008.
• Saturday's contest will be the first in meeting between the two schools in Newport since playing the previous five in Babson Park.
LAST MEETING
• Jack Coolahan '20 scored 22 points to lead three players in double figures as Babson defeated visiting Salve Regina, 92-68, on November 16, 2019, in Babson Park.
• Coolahan finished 9-of-13 from the floor and also blocked a career-high five shots, while classmate Frank Oftring '20 added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with six rebounds, four assists and two blocks for the Beavers. Senior Colin Bradanese went 7-of-8 from the floor on the way to scoring a career-high 14 points, and Crew Ainge '20 tied for game-high honors with seven boards.
• Mikey Spencer led all scorers with 25 points and tied for game-high honors with seven boards to pace the Seahawks. Kevin Kelly chipped in with 14 points, six boards and three assists.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (3-0), which will be playing its first road game of the season, is coming off a 70-67 win over Lasell on Wednesday evening inside Staake Gymnasium.
• The Beavers used a balanced scoring attack in the win as Bradanese led the way with 14 points and a team-high 11 rebounds, first-year Rob Crouch added 11 points, and first-year Nate Amado and senior James Welch chipped in with nine points apiece.
• Bradanese (17.3 pts, 11.0 reb) is shooting 50 percent over the first two games (23-46), Amado is averaging 12.0 points and 7.3 rebounds, and Welch (10.7 pts, 1.3 ast) is second on the team in assists through three contests.
• The Green and White has held its first two opponents to a combined 36.5 percent shooting.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
• Salve (0-2) has opened the season with back-to-back losses to Eastern Nazarene (75-64) and Brown University (89-59).
• Grad student Cameron Collins scored a team-high 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the loss to Brown. Collins became just the second player in program history to reach the 1000-point milestone as a junior in 2020.
• Collins was also good for 20 points (8-of-10 FG) and seven boards in the season opening loss to Eastern Nazarene. Sophomore Clay Brochu dropped in 13 points off the bench and grad student Kevin Kelly added 10 points and six rebounds in the setback.
• Salve, which returns two graduate student and three seniors from the 2019-20 team that finished 12-14, was picked to finish fourth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference preseason poll.
BRADANESE SWEEPS NEWMAC WEEKLY HONORS
• After producing a double-double with a career-high 14 rebounds in Saturday's win over UMass Boston and averaging 19 points and 11 boards in two games, Bradanese was selected as the NEWMAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• He blocked four shots in Saturday's victory over the Beacons and is averaging 2.5 blocks through two contests.
STARTING STRONG
• In addition to Amado, who is averaging 12 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first three collegiate games, Welch has come off the Beavers bench to contribute 10.7 points per game.
• Graduate student Mitchell Kirsch and Crouch have played well in three starts for the Beavers, both shooting 50 percent from the field. Kirsch, who was a two-year starter at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, is averaging 7.7 points and shooting 44.4 percent from three-point range (4-9), and Crouch checks in at 7.0 points an outing.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers have pulled down 39 offensive rebounds and have held their three opponents to a 39.3 percent field goal shooting.
• Babson committed just 14 turnovers in their first two games to start the season but was forced into 14 miscues against Lasell.
• The Beavers are looking to match the start of last season, when they won their first five games on the way to a COVID-shortened 8-2 campaign.
UP NEXT
• Babson returns home to host the University of Saint Joseph (Connecticut) on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Staake Gymnasium. The Beavers dropped a pair against the Blue Jays in March of 2021, falling 73-67 in Babson Park on March 6, and dropping a 92-82 triple-overtime decision in West Hartford the next night.
