BABSON PARK, Mass.—Senior Andrew Jaworski (Tolland, Conn.) led all scorers with 25 points and dished out a season-high seven assists as Babson College defeated visiting Lasell University, 80-72, in men's college basketball action on Saturday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

With the win, Babson improves to 3-0 on the year, while Lasell starts 0-1.

Junior James Welch (Needham, Mass.) went 5-of-8 from three-point range and finished with 17 points, while classmate Colin Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) added 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds for the Beavers. Sophomore Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, Ill.) chipped in with eight points and six assists in the victory.

Senior Kevin Nunez (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 24 points on 11-of-20 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Lasers. Junior EJ Day (Norwalk, Conn.) added 19 points, six assists and six boards, while senior Jonathan Friberg (North Attleboro, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, all in the first half.

Nunez and Friberg combined for 12 early points as Lasell led by as many as seven twice over the first 10 minutes of the contest before Babson erased the deficit with a 16-3 run that included four three-pointers by Welch to go up 29-23 with 6:22 to play in the opening half. The Lasers pulled even three times over the final four-plus minutes of the period, the last coming on a bucket by Friberg to make it 39-39, before Jaworski answered with one of his four triples to give the Green and White a 42-39 edge at the break.

The Beavers opened the second half with a 10-2 burst that included three-pointers by Bradanese and sophomore Aaron Gao (Bridgewater, N.J.), but Lasell responded with eight of the next 10 points to pull back within 54-49 on a layup by Day with 13:15 to go. Bradanese answered with a three-point play and Welch and senior Matt Pattyson (Doylestown, Pa.) knocked down trifectas to stretch the Babson margin back to 63-51 with 11:27 remaining.

The Lasers got within nine on a free throw by Nunez at the 7:01 mark, only to see Kirkpatrick answer with a three-pointer, which was followed by a Jaworski hoop in transition to give the Beavers their largest lead of the game at 73-59 with 6:16 to go. Nunez got Lasell as close as six after Babson missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 35 seconds to play, but Welch drained two free throws on the ensuing possession to seal the win.

The Beavers made a season-high 15 three-pointers and shot 43.5 percent overall from the floor, while the Lasers shot 48.4 percent and outscored Babson 44-18 in the paint.

The teams conclude their two-game series on Sunday at 4 p.m. inside Staake Gymnasium.

GAME NOTES
• Babson is 15-3 all-time against Lasell and has won the last eight meetings between the teams.
• Jaworski's 25-point outing moved him past Russell Braithwaite '13 (1,085) and CJ Enere '05 (1,086) and into 22nd place on the Beavers' all-time scoring list with 1,100 points.
• Babson's 37 three-point attempts are their most going back to the 2011-12 season.
• The Beavers' 24 assists on Saturday are their most since dishing out 25 in a 103-88 win over Coast Guard on February 15, 2017.