Men's Basketball vs. Eastern Nazarene
Saturday, March 13 | 1 p.m. | Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.
Sunday, March 14 | 1 p.m. | Lahue Physical Education Center| Quincy, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 16-12 all-time against Eastern Nazarene in a series that dates back to the 1962-63 campaign.
• The Beavers have won three in a row and eight of their last nine games in the all-time series although the teams have not played since 2002.
• Ten of the previous 28 games between the teams have been decided by five points or less.
LAST MEETING
• Jeff Nicholson scored a game-high 15 points to lead four players in double figures as the Beavers routed Eastern Nazarene, 84-36, on January 17, 2002, in Babson Park.
• Giles Westie '02 and Jeff Hines '04 both added 13 points for Babson, which shot 54.2 percent and assisted on 22 of its 32 field goals.
• Derrick Bell and Rosaun Kindell both scored seven points for the Lions.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Eastern Nazarene (0-0) lost all five starters from a team that finished 14-13 after reaching the NECC Tournament semifinals last season.
• The Lions do return six players from last year, led by senior David Lopez who averaged 6.3 points on 52.9 percent shooting to go along with 4.6 rebounds.
• Classmate Fred Smith contributed 4.1 points and 4.7 boards in 10 contests, while fellow senior Luke Dagley added 4.0 points on 49 percent shooting in 17 games off the bench.
• Eastern Nazarene averaged 75.7 points and shot 46.3 percent from the floor as a team in 2019-20.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (6-2) snapped a two-game skid with a 90-66 win over Mitchell on Wednesday night.
• Senior Matt Pattyson led five players in double figures with a career-high 15 points and sophomores Aaron Gao and Andrew Kirkpatrick both scored 12 first-half points for the Beavers, who shot 47.9 percent for the game.
• Senior Andrew Jaworski (14.9 pts, 5.9 reb, 4.3 ast) leads the team in scoring and rebounding, junior James Welch (14.8 pts, 2.8 reb) has scored in double figures in six consecutive games, and classmate Colin Bradanese (13.3 pts, 5.5 reb, 1.4 blocks) is shooting 57.1 percent from the floor.
• The Green and White is averaging 1.07 points per possession and shooting 47.8 percent, which ranks 38th in Division III.
END OF THE ROAD
• Saturday's contest will be the last inside Staake Gymnasium for Babson's two seniors, Jaworski and Pattyson.
• The duo has guided the Beavers to a record of 56-24 over the last four seasons and made three straight appearances in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals from 2018-20.
• Jaworski and Pattyson also helped guide the Green and White to a 20-win campaign that culminated with an NCAA Tournament berth last winter.
THREE IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
• The Beavers matched their season high by knocking down 15 three-point field goals in Wednesday's win over Mitchell.
• Babson's 35 three-point attempts was also two short of its season high which came in an 80-72 win over Lasell on February 27.
• For the season, the Green and White ranks 11th in Division III in three-point field goals made per game (11.1) and 37th in three-point FG percentage (38.0).
BENCH PRODUCTION
• Babson's six substitutes combined to score 37 points in Wednesday's victory over Mitchell, which included 11 points from Welch, a season-high eight by first-year Jesse Jones and a season-best six by sophomore Matt Corey.
• Over their first eight games, the Beavers are averaging 30.9 points per game from their bench and have gotten at least 21 points from non-starters in every contest.
NUMBER TO KNOW
• The Beavers have assisted on 54 percent of their field goals this winter.
