BABSON PARK, Mass.—Graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) led four players in double figures with 23 points and sophomore Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) added a career-high 18 points to help Babson College cruise past visiting Emerson College, 93-73, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With the win, Babson improves to 5-3 overall and starts league play 1-0. Emerson has dropped its last four games to fall to 2-6 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC. 

Baxter went 10-of-15 from the floor and added three assists and two steals, while O'Toole was 8-of-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals for the Beavers. Junior Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) finished with 10 points, five boards and four assists and classmate Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) contributed 10 points, four rebounds and four dimes in the win. 

Junior Lucas Brenner (Miami, Fla.) scored 16 points, sophomore Brendan McNamara (Arlington, Mass.) registered 15 points and first-year Guillermo Gassett Ruiz (Malaga, Spain) had 13 points to pace the Lions. Sophomore Asher Gardiner (Christchurch, New Zealand) also finished with 10 points on 5-of-7 shooting in the loss. 

Leading by one almost midway through the first half, the Green and White got a three-pointer and layup sandwiched around a bucket by sophomore Mark Woolhouse (Lebanon, N.J.) to push its lead to 25-17 with 8:57 to go in the opening half. Gardiner and McNamara combined for eight of Emerson's next 10 points to pull within 32-27 at the 3:34 mark before the Beavers closed the half with a 12-4 spurt that included a pair of three-pointers by senior John Gorgol (Scottsdale, Ariz.) to stretch the margin to 44-31 at the break. 

A three-point play by Baxter and a layup by Amado made it 49-33 just 90 seconds into the second half before the Lions scored nine straight points to get within 49-42 on a hoop by Brenner with 15:58 remaining. Babson answered right back with a 17-2 run over the next four-plus minutes to put the game away. 

Junior David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) converted a three-point play and Baxter and Horan knocked down back-to-back triples to make it 60-44 at the 13:32 mark. Following an Emerson timeout, O'Toole canned a pair of jumpers and Amado finished inside to give the Beavers a 66-44 edge with 11:16 to play. A three-point play by O'Toole stretched the margin to 73-48 with 9:45 to go and hoops by sophomore Jojo Chalumeau (Boston, Mass.), Woolhouse and sophomore Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) helped five the Green and White its largest lead of the game at 85-56 with 5:16 left. 

The Beavers shot 51.3 percent on the night, outscored Emerson 40-28 in the paint and finished with a 44-28 edge on the glass. The Lions shot 46.7 percent from the floor but were just 6-of-22 from beyond the arc (27.3 percent). 

Both teams are back in action on Saturday as Babson visits 17th-ranked WPI at 2 p.m., while Emerson hosts Coast Guard at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 32-5 all-time against Emerson. 
•    Babson has won seven in a row against NEWMAC foes and each of its last six conference home games going back to last season. 
•    The Beavers are now 5-1 on the year when shooting better than 40 percent and 5-0 when outrebounding their opponents. 
•    Amado has scored in double figures in 12 consecutive games going back to last year.