BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) scored 19 of his game-high 29 points in the first half and Babson College built a 23-point lead on the way to defeating visiting Wheaton College, 76-65, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Thursday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With the win, Babson improves to 7-8 overall and 3-3 in league play while Wheaton dips to 8-5 overall and 2-3 in the NEWMAC. 

Amado added eight rebounds, three blocks and two steals, and sophomore Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) finished with 10 points to lead the Beavers. Junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) scored nine points, classmate David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) added eight and senior John Gorgol (Scottsdale, Ariz.) chipped in with six points to go along with a career-high 11 rebounds and four assists. 

Junior Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.) knocked down seven three-pointers and scored 22 of his game-high 30 points in the second half to lead the Lyons. Sophomore Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) chipped in with eight points and grabbed 10 boards in the loss. 

The Green and White got a pair of buckets from Amado and two three-pointers from Gorgol to jump out to a 10-0 lead less than four minutes into the contest. Amado followed a transition dunk by Horan with a triple to extend the margin to 19-5 and then scored eight points during another 12-0 spurt that helped the Beavers push their advantage to 33-10 with 6:20 to go in the opening half. 

Wheaton, which missed 17 of its first 19 shots, scored eight straight points to cut its deficit to 15 on a jumper by sophomore Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) but a driving layup by Amado and two free throws by Cross helped Babson carry a 37-23 into the locker room. Murphy scored the Lyons' first 11 points of the second half and then followed up a layup by first-year Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) with his fourth triple of the period to cut the Beavers' lead to 48-43 with 12:06 to play in the game. 

Wheaton would get no closer though as Babson responded with a 10-2 run included a jumper by Horan sandwiched between a corner three and a layup by Paul to stretch the margin back to 58-45 with 5:37 remaining. The Green and White went 9-of-10 at the free throw line over the final four-plus minutes did not allow the visitors to get any closer than 10 the rest of the way. 

The Beavers shot 40.3 percent from the floor, outscored Wheaton 18-9 at the free throw line and finished with a 46-36 edge on the glass. The Lyons shot just 28.1 percent in the first half and 35.3 percent for the game. 

Babson is off until next Tuesday when it travels to Salve Regina at 7 p.m. while Wheaton visits Emerson on Saturday at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 42-15 all-time against Wheaton and have won 23 of the last 26 games in the series. 
•    Babson is now 6-2 on the year when shooting at least 40 percent.
•    The Green and White is 7-1 this winter when outrebounding its opponents.
•    The Beavers hit eight three-pointers in Thursday's win, which are their most since making 10 in a win over Emerson back on December 6.