Men's Basketball vs. Emerson
Saturday, January 28 | 1 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 29-5 all-time against Emerson in a series that dates back to the 1951-52 campaign.
• The Beavers have won 17 of the last 20 games in the series although two of the losses to the Lions have come in the last two matchups.
• Last season's OT loss in the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals snapped Babson's nine-game home winning streak against Emerson.
• Seven of the last nine games between the teams have been decided by single digits, which includes two games by three points or less and two more that finished in OT.

LAST MEETING
• Graduate student Nate Martin led four players in double figures with 20 points and Emerson closed the game with a 17-8 run to defeat Babson, 79-70, on January 4 in Boston.
• Graduate student Jarred Houston scored 17 points and grabbed eight boards for the Lions, who shot 47.6 percent and led by as many as 12 in the first half.
• Graduate student Ryan Cibull matched his career high with 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting and senior Andrew Kirkpatrick scored 16 points for the Beavers, who trailed by just three with under two minutes to play.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (11-7, 4-3 NEWMAC) extended its winning streak to three with an 87-64 rout of Clark on Wednesday night.
• Cibull scored a game-high 18 points and senior Aaron Gao and sophomore Nate Amado both added 15 points for the Beavers, who shot 51.5 percent and built a 21-point halftime lead.
• Amado (20.2 pts, 7.0 reb) is shooting 48.3 percent and returned from a seven-game absence on Wednesday night, Kirkpatrick (14.9 pts, 3.0 ast) has scored in double figures in 13 of the last 14 games, and Cibull (9.5 pts, 3.1 ast) is averaging a team-high 15.5 points on 47.7 percent shooting in league play.
• The Green and White ranks second in both scoring defense (62.1 points) and defensive efficiency allowing just 0.89 points per possession in NEWMAC play.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
• Emerson (11-7, 6-1 NEWMAC) has won three straight games and is coming off a 74-66 victory at Springfield on Wednesday night.
• Houston finished with 21 points and 17 rebounds and senior Max Davis knocked down four three-pointers and scored 18 points to lead four players in double figures for the Lions, who outscored the Pride 24-11 over the final 7:01.
• Houston (19.1 pts, 13.2 reb, 4.2 blocks) is shooting 62.9 percent and ranks first in Division III with 16 double-doubles, Martin (15.1 pts, 3.0 reb) has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games, and Davis (14.2 pts, 3.1 ast ) is shooting 46.9 percent from beyond the arc.
• Emerson ranks first in conference play in scoring offense (80.1 points), field goal percentage (47.4) and three-point field goal percentage (41.7).

THREES ARE WILD
• After averaging 4.6 three-point field goals over their first five NEWMAC contests, the Beavers are 29-of-59 (49.2 percent) from beyond the arc over the last two games.
• Babson knocked down a season-high 15 triples in a 79-60 win at Coast Guard last Saturday and finished 14-of-29 from distance in Wednesday's victory over Clark.
• Cibull is 8-of-14 from deep over the last two games, Kirkpatrick is 5-of-9, first-year Timmy O'Toole is a perfect 4-of-4 and Gao is coming off a 3-of-3 effort against the Cougars.

WELCOME BACK
• After missing the last seven games, the Beavers' leading scorer and rebounder Amado returned to action on Wednesday against Clark.
• Despite missing his first three shots he finished with 15 points on 6-of-12 shooting to go along with two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot in 26 minutes.
• Amado has scored in double figures in 15 straight games going back to February of last season and ranks second in the NEWMAC in scoring (20.2) and fifth in rebounding (7.0).

LION TAMER
• In four games against Emerson over the last two seasons, Kirkpatrick is averaging 15.5 points on 54.8 percent shooting to go along with 2.3 assists and one steal per game.
• He has scored 16 or more points in each of the three regular season games against the Lions while shooting 52.5 percent from the floor and 83.3 percent (10-of-12) at the free throw line.

VETERAN PRESENCE
• Gao, who dished out a season-high six assists in Wednesday's win over Clark, has provided a steady hand for Babson during the first half of NEWMAC play.
• He is averaging 9.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.6 steals while shooting 45.9 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from three-point range.
• Gao has scored in double figures four times in seven contests, which includes matching his season high with 15 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the blowout of the Cougars.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The winning team has scored at least 78 points in 14 of the last 15 games between Babson and Emerson.
• The Beavers are 9-2 this season when allowing 65 points or less and have held six consecutive opponents below this mark.
• Babson is 5-1 this season and has won 12 of its last 13 games when making at least 10 three-pointers going back to the start of last season.
• In its 11 wins this season the Beavers are averaging 1.04 points per possession and allowing just 0.83 points per possession.

UP NEXT
• The Beavers travel to Wheaton on Wednesday at 7 p.m.