No. 24 WPI at Men's Basketball
Saturday, February 5 | 1 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.
SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 50-35 all-time against WPI in a series that dates back to the 1974-75 campaign.
• The Beavers have dropped three straight and four of their last five games against the Engineers since 2019.
• Half of the last 14 contests between the teams have been decided by seven points or less although each of WPI's last three victories over Babso have come by double figures.
LAST MEETING
• Graduate student Colin McNamara poured in a game-high 23 points to lead five players in double figures as WPI rolled past Babson, 88-57, on January 12, in Worcester.
• Sophomore John Adams scored 14 points and Aidan Callahan finished with 13 for the Engineers, who shot 50.7 percent and outscored the Beavers 25-8 over the first 12 minutes of the second half.
• Senior Colin Bradanese scored 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting for the Green and Which, which finished just 2-for-18 from beyond the arc.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (15-5, 8-1 NEWMAC) is riding a season-best six-game winning streak after defeating Wheaton, 80-70, on Wednesday night.
• Bradanese scored a game-high 19 points and sophomore Kieran Dorney recorded a double-double with 16 points and 15 rebounds for the Beavers, who led by as many as 22 in the first half.
• Bradanese (15.2, pts, 6.6 reb) is shooting 62.1 percent over the last seven games, first-year Nate Amado is averaging 11.1 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds, and Dorney (11.1 pts, 6.3 reb) is second on the team with four double-doubles this winter.
• The Green and White ranks first in league play in scoring offense (80.0 points) and field goal percentage (46.1).
SCOUTING THE ENGINEERS
• WPI (17-2, 8-1 NEWMAC) remained unbeaten at home with a 76-47 rout of Emerson on Wednesday night.
• McNamara scored a game-high 17 points and Adams finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five assists as four players reached double figures for the Engineers, who started the second half with a 19-4 run.
• Junior John Lowther (15.4 pts, 6.5 reb) ranks sixth in the conference in scoring, Adams (13.2 pts, 9.8 reb) is shooting 54.4 percent from the floor and McNamara (12.1 pts, 4.1 ast) has scored in double figures in seven of the last eight games.
• WPI ranks 16th in Division III in scoring defense (61.5 points) and is holding opponents to just 28 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
• Babson and WPI enter Saturday's clash tied atop the NEWMAC standings at 8-1 and are three games ahead of both Emerson and Clark.
• The Beavers can secure a conference tournament berth and take over first place with a victory on Saturday, while the Engineers are looking to sweep the season series and move a step closer to winning their first regular season league title since 2014.
BEAVER BITES
• Over the last four games, Bradanese is averaging 21.0 points on 60.7 percent shooting. He leads the Green and White with five double-doubles and was selected as the NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Monday.
• Junior Andrew Kirkpatrick has scored in double figures in three straight games, which includes 13 first-half points on Wednesday at Wheaton, and is averaging 13.8 points while shooting 6-of-13 from three-point range during this stretch.
• Dorney is putting up 13.8 points over his last six outings and ranks fourth in league play shooting 44.9 percent from beyond the arc.
• Graduate student Mitchell Kirsch has dished out four or more assists in eight of nine conference games and is averaging 5.0 dimes against NEWMAC foes.
NUMBERS TO KNOW
• Babson is 10-1 at home this season with the lone loss coming to No. 7 Saint Joseph (Conn.) back in November.
• The Beavers are 8-0 this winter and boast a 22-game winning streak when holding their opponents below 70 points.
• Babson is 11-2 when making at least eight three-pointers on the year.
UP NEXT
• The Beavers travel to Springfield for a 7 p.m. tip against the Pride next Wednesday.
