AMHERST, Mass. — First-year Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) scored 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting and grabbed a team-high seven rebounds Friday afternoon as Babson College handed No. 20 Amherst College its first loss of the season, 70-59, in non-conference men's basketball action inside the Lefrak Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson improves to 7-4 on the season while Amherst drops to 8-1 overall.

The Beavers also got 14 points and five rebounds from sophomore Kieran Dorney (Garden City, N.Y.) and 12 points off the bench from graduate student Spencer Cline (Mason, Ohio). Junior Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, Ill.) contributed nine points and first-year Rob Crouch (Jacksonville, Fla.) chipped in with eight points off the bench.

Senior Garrett Day (Pittsburgh, Pa.) poured in a career-high 35 points to lead the Mammoths, connecting on 11-of-25 from the field and 7-of-17 from three-point range while also grabbing five rebounds. First-year Ryker Vance (Naples, Fla.) scored eight points but was the only other Mammoth to score more than four points. Junior Michael Schretter (Ridgewood, N.J.)and first-year Will Scherer (Darnestown, Md.) grabbed eight rebounds each, helping Amherst to a 54-41 advantage on the glass.

Day hit three 3-pointers in the first two minutes of the game to give Amherst an early 9-4 lead. The Beavers battled back to within one point at 11-10, but a four-point play after Day's fourth bucket from beyond the arc pushed the Mammoth's lead back up to five. Babson responded with nine straight points, sparked by five points from Kirkpatrick, to take its first lead of the game, 19-15.

After trading a couple baskets each, the teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes before Day connected with 5:45 on the clock and sophomore Dan Schlakman (Sharon, Mass.) tied the score at 23-all a minute later. The Beavers finally halted their cold spell with 4:10 remaining on a Kirkpatrick hoop to regain the lead, and Cline later drained a three with 1:33 remaining to put Babson up 32-38 with a minute and a half remaining. Neither team could convert the rest of the half, sending the squads to the locker room with Babson up by four.

The hosts tied the game early in the second half on a layup by Vance, but Babson answered with a bucket by Amado and a three-pointer by Dorney. Amherst regained the lead with six unanswered points, but Amado answered with a put-back for the Beavers as the teams traded baskets.

Day hit a shot from long-range with 8:45 remaining to give Amherst what would turn out to be its last lead of the day, 49-46, as Babson rattled off 12 consecutive points over the next three-and-a-half minutes, ignited by a Dorney three and moving the Babson lead to 58-49 with 5:30 to play. A three-pointer by Amado with four minutes remaining stuffed out an Amherst comeback rally, and Cline's layup with 2:29 remaining pushed the margin back up to 10 points, 63-53. The Mammoths got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Babson shot 40.9 percent for the game while holding Amherst to season-lows of 29.7 percent from the field and 20 percent from beyond the arc. The Mammoths stayed in the game on the strength of a season-high 22 offensive rebounds.

The Beavers will play New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) games the rest of the season, beginning this Wednesday against Emerson at 7 p.m. at Staake Gymnasium.

GAME NOTES
• The 70 points was the most allowed by the Mammoths this season, who entered the game ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division III in scoring defense (51.5).
• Babson is now 17-24 all-time against Amherst in a series that dates back to 1977-78, including wins in the last four encounters.
• The Green and White has won four of the last five at Amherst.
• The Beavers finished the season 3-1 against the NESCAC this season, defeating Bates, Bowdoin and Amherst and losing to Colby.
• Babson is 11-1 against the NESCAC since the start of the 2018-19 season.