BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Trevor Arico (Ann Arbor, Mich.) sent the game to overtime with a three-pointer with 3.6 seconds remaining and then scored the go-ahead hoop in the extra session as third-seeded Emerson College rallied to defeat second-seeded Babson College, 85-77, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament semifinal on Thursday night inside Staake Gymnasium.

Babson, which is ranked fourth in the NCAA Region II rankings, slips to 18-7 overall and must wait until Monday afternoon to find out if it earns one of 20 Pool C at-large selections to the NCAA Tournament. Emerson improves to 18-6 and will travel to WPI for the NEWMAC Tournament final on Saturday.

Senior Colin Bradanese (Billerica, Mass.) scored 18 points and sophomore Kieran Dorney (Garden City, N.Y.) added 17 points and a game-high 16 rebounds for the Beavers. Senior James Welch (Needham, Mass.) finished with 15 points and graduate student Mitchell Kirsch (Atkinson, N.H,) chipped in with 13 points and seven assists in the loss.

Senior Zach Waterhouse (Hampton, N.H.) poured in a game-high 28 points and classmate Jarred Houston (Norwood, Mass.) finished with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Lions. Arico came off the bench to score 14 points, all in the second half and overtime, of the win.

Up six at the half, Babson used a 12-2 run that included points from four different players to take its largest lead of the night at 48-32 with 14:57 to play. Emerson responded with a 20-3 spurt that included 15 points from Waterhouse and Houston to take a 52-51 lead at the 8:36 mark, but the Beavers regained command by outscoring the Lions 16-8 over the next five-plus minutes to go up 67-60 on a bucket by Bradanese with 2:57 to go in regulation.

Despite missing three free throws, the Green and White led 75-70 with 19 seconds left before senior Chad DiCenzo (Andover, Mass.) went coast-to-coast to trim the visitors' deficit to three. Babson threw away the inbounds pass and Arico took advantage, canning an open three-pointer from the right corner to send the game to overtime.

Kirsch hit two free throws to tie the game at 77 with 3:20 to go in the extra stanza, but Arico hit a jumper nearly two minutes later and Waterhouse beat the shot clock with a driving layup on the following possession to put Emerson in front for good.

Houston and Waterhouse each scored 13 first-half points, but Dorney and Welch both knocked down a pair of three-pointers and Bradanese added eight points as the Beavers led by as many as eight before settling for a 36-30 advantage at the break.

Babson, which went 0-of-8 from the floor in overtime, shot just 39.4 percent on the night and was outscored at the free throw line 26-13. The Lions shot 45 percent for the game and finished with a slim 39-37 edge on the glass.

GAME NOTES
• Babson, which is 29-4 all-time against Emerson, has split a pair of NEWMAC Tournament meetings against the Lions.
• Six of the last nine games between the teams have been decided by eight points or less and the winning team has scored at least 80 points each time.
• Prior to Thursday's loss, the Beavers had been 15-0 on the year when leading with one minute to play in regulation.
• Babson is 3-2 on the year in overtime games.