Men's Basketball vs. Springfield
Wednesday, February 8 | 7 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass.

SERIES HISTORY
• Babson is 28-42 all-time against Springfield in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 campaign.
• The Beavers have won 14 of their last 19 games against the Pride, which includes a three-game winning streak since last January.
• The Green and White has won seven of the last nine games against Springfield inside Staake Gymnasium with both losses coming by just three points.

LAST MEETING
• Junior John Gorgol hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 51 seconds to go as Babson defeated the Pride, 59-55, on January 7 in Springfield, Mass.
• Senior Andrew Kirkpatrick scored a game-high 18 points and went 6-of-6 at the free throw line over the final 31 seconds, while classmate Aaron Gao added 10 points, five boards and two steals for the Beavers, who led by as many as 10 in the first half.
• Sophomore Curtiss Blische had nine points and nine rebounds and senior Panayiotis Kapanides added eight points and nine boards for Springfield, which held the Green and White to just three field goals over the final 12 minutes of the contest.

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
• Babson (13-8, 6-4 NEWMAC) had its five-game winning streak snapped in a 55-54 loss at No. 12 WPI on Saturday.
• Graduate student Ryan Cibull knocked down five three-pointers and scored 19 points while Kirkpatrick and first-year Mark Woolhouse both finished with 10 points for the Beavers, who held the Engineers to just 34.4 percent shooting.
• Sophomore Nate Amado (17.7 pts, 6.9 reb) ranks fifth in the league in scoring, Kirkpatrick (14.2 pts, 2.9 ast) has scored in double figures in 15 of last 17 games, and Cibull (10.4 pts, 2.9 ast) is averaging 15.1 points on 50.7 percent shooting in conference play.
• The Green and White ranks second in conference play in both scoring defense (60.1 points) and defensive efficiency allowing 0.88 points per possession.

SCOUTING THE PRIDE
• Springfield (6-15, 3-7 NEWMAC) has dropped four of its last four games after suffering an 84-71 loss to Wheaton on Saturday.
• Sophomore Tre Hodge and first-year Josiah Evely both came off the bench to score 13 points and graduate student Daryl Costa added 10 points and five steals for the Pride, which trailed 45-24 at halftime.
• Costa (12.1 pts, 2.6 reb) is averaging 18.4 points on 58.5 percent shooting over the last eight games, Blische (8.5 pts, 6.6 reb) leads the team in rebounding and first-year John Paulino is contributing 8.3 points and a team-high 3.3 assists.
• Springfield ranks first in the NEWMAC in adjusted tempo (75.5 possessions) per Matt Snyder's Division III efficiency rankings but has given up at least 73 points in eight consecutive games.

WINNING WITH DEFENSE
• The Beavers, who rank 29th in Division III in defensive efficiency, have allowed 64 points or fewer in nine consecutive games, which includes limiting three straight opponents to 56 points or less.
• Over its last six outings, Babson has held its foes to 38.7 percent shooting while forcing 16.7 turnovers and allowing just 0.82 points per possession.

LONG RANGE THREAT
• Cibull canned a season-high five three-pointers at WPI and has now made at least one triple in six consecutive games going back to January 18
• He ranks third in the NEWMAC shooting 43.1 percent from distance and is 16-of-34 (47.1 percent) from beyond the arc over the last six contests.

FIGHTING FOR SEEDING
• The Green and White has bounced back from its 1-3 league start with five wins in its last six games and is now tied for third with Wheaton at 6-4.
• The Beavers and Lyons trail conference leader WPI (9-1) and second-place Emerson (7-3) while Clark (5-5) holds a two-game lead over Springfield for the fifth and final playoff spot.
• The top two seeds will earn home-court advantage and the top three seeds will advance to the semifinals when the NEWMAC Tournament begins on February 21.

NUMBERS TO KNOW
• The Beavers are 11-3 this season when allowing 65 points or fewer.
• Babson is 6-1 this winter when making at least nine three-pointers.
• The Beavers are 4-1 in league play in games decided by six points or less or in overtime.
• The Green and White is 8-2 this winter and 15-3 going back to the start of last year when forcing 16 turnovers or more.

UP NEXT
• Babson travels to Worcester for its regular season road finale at Clark on Saturday at 1 p.m.