BABSON PARK, Mass.—Jalen Samuels (Franklin, Mass.) scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the second half to help visiting University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) defeat Babson College, 73-64, in non-conference men's basketball action on Wednesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

Babson, which had its three-game winning streak halted, is now 4-3 on the year, while Saint Joseph improves to 5-1 overall. 

Junior Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed five rebounds, while graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) added 18 points and four steals to pace the Beavers. Junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) also contributed eight points and three boards off the bench in the loss. 

Senior Tyree Mitchell (East Hartford, Conn.) scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high eight rebounds and sophomore Lence Altenor (Everett, Mass.) added 13 points and two steals for the Blue Jays. 

Down 31-24 at the break after shooting just 24.2 percent over the opening 20 minutes, the Green and White scored on five of its first six possessions to begin the second half to pull within 39-37 on a three-pointer by Baxter. Samuels followed four straight points by Mitchell with a two-hand slam to push the Saint Joseph's lead back to 45-37 at the 14:51 mark, but junior David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.), sophomore Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) and senior John Gorgol (Scottsdale, Ariz.) answered with triples to cut the Beavers' deficit back to 49-46 with 12:46 to play. 

Six points from junior Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) stretched the margin back to eight with 9:00 remaining but a pair of buckets by Horan around a layup by Baxter pulled Babson to within 61-59 with 5:47 to go. Down 64-62 with under four minutes left, the Beavers came up empty on three straight trips before a layup by Samuels made it a two-possession game with 1:43 to play. 

Amado scored in transition following a steal by Baxter to cut the Blue Jays' advantage to 66-64 before sophomore Friedrich Feldrappe (Berlin, Germany) answered with a three-pointer from the right wing to extend the visitors' lead to 69-64 with 49 seconds remaining. Altenor knocked down four free throws over the final 18 seconds for the final margin. 

The Beavers shot 34.3 percent for the game and went 11-of-39 (28.2) from three-point range in the loss. Saint Joseph shot 61.5 percent in the second half and 51.8 percent in the contest, and outscored the Green and White 40-18 in the paint to go along with a 37-32 edge on the glass. 

Babson is off until next Wednesday when it opens NEWMAC play at home against Emerson at 7 p.m. The Blue Jays visit Saint Joseph's (Maine) in their GNAC opener on Saturday at 3 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 0-5 all-time against Saint Joseph. 
•    Babson's 39 three-point attempts are a season high and its eight turnovers in Wednesday's loss matched its season low. 
•    Wednesday's setback snapped the Beavers' seven-game home winning streak and marked their first loss inside Staake Gymnasium since January 14 of last year. 
•    Babson has been outrebounded by its opponent in each of its last seven losses.