Men's Basketball at Emerson
Saturday, January 20 | 1 p.m.
Brown and Plofker Gymnasium | Boston, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 32-5 all-time against Emerson in a series that dates back to the 1951-52 campaign.
•    The Beavers have won 20 of their last 23 games against the Lions although the teams split last year's regular season series. 
•    Nine of the last 12 contests have been decided by single digits, which includes four games by five point or less and two others in OT. 

LAST MEETING
•    Graduate student Steph Baxter led four players in double figures with 23 points and sophomore Timmy O'Toole scored a career-high 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting as the Beavers cruised past Emerson, 93-73, back on December 6 in Babson Park. 
•    Junior Nate Amado finished with 10 points, five rebounds and four assists, while classmate Aidan Horan chipped in with 10 points and four dimes for Babson, which shot 51.3 percent from the floor and led by as many as 29 in the second half.
•    Lucas Brenner scored 16 points and Brendan McNamara added 15 points and three assists to pace four players in double figures for the Lions, who shot 46.7 percent in the loss. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Babson (8-9, 4-4 NEWMAC) has won two of its last three games after rallying to defeat Coast Guard, 76-75, on Thursday night. 
•    Baxter, who converted a three-point play with 11.2 seconds remaining, and Amado both scored 19 points and junior Jeremiah Paul added 10 points as the Beavers overcame a 10-point deficit with less than eight minutes to play. 
•    Amado (20.6 pts, 7.1 reb, 1.3 blk) ranks first in scoring and fourth in the NEWMAC in both rebounds and blocked shots, Baxter (18.7 pts, 3.4 reb, 3.0 ast) has scored at least 16 points in 11 of his last 12 outings and O'Toole (7.7 pts, 7.5 reb) is shooting 50.8 percent on the year. 
•    The Green and White is averaging 77.3 points on 44.3 percent shooting in its four conference wins but has been held under 55 points in each of its four losses. 

SCOUTING THE LIONS
•    Emerson (7-10, 3-5 NEWMAC) has won back-to-back games after edging Salve Regina 60-58 on the road on Thursday night. 
•    McNamara finished with 12 points and six assists while Brenner, Trevor Arico and Guillermo Gasset Ruiz all contributed 11 points for the Lions, who built an early 12-point lead and held the Seahawks to just one field goal over the final six minutes of the contest. 
•    Arico (14.8 pts, 2.5 reb) ranks fifth in the conference in scoring, McNamara (13.8 pts, 3.8 ast, 3.1 reb) has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games and Gasset Ruiz (9.6 pts, 7.0 reb) is shooting 50.4 percent from the floor and is second in the league with 34 steals. 
•    Emerson is shooting 46.6 percent over the last five games and has made at least 10 three-pointers in each of its last four contests. 

COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
•    Down eight with just over six minutes remaining, the Beavers made six of their final eight shots and got five points apiece from Amado and Baxter to rally past Coast Guard on Thursday night. 
•    The win was the first for the Beavers when trailing with five minutes to play in regulation since February 11 of last season when it defeated Clark, 66-62, and was their first when trailing with less than a minute to play in regulation going back to an 87-79 OT triumph at Emerson on January 30, 2022. 

BIGS OFF THE BENCH
•    The duo of sophomore Mark Woolhouse and first-year NeJohn Fortes combined for 15 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two blocked shots in Thursday's win. 
•    Woolhouse went 4-of-4 shooting on the way to setting a new season high in scoring while Fortes, who made his collegiate debut on Tuesday at Salve Regina, went 3-of-6 from the floor, grabbed a season-high six boards and recorded his first career points with a ferocious putback dunk in the first half. 

START OF THE STRETCH RUN
•    Eight games into the 16-game conference slate, Babson is part of a three-way tie for third place in the league standings with Salve Regina and Coast Guard. 
•    No. 23 Clark is in first place at 8-0, one game ahead of WPI (7-1), while both Wheaton and Emerson are tied for the sixth and final playoff spot at 3-5. 

WHAT TO WATCH FOR
•    The Beavers have dropped three straight conference road games while averaging just 47 points. 
•    Despite just 1-3 against league foes at home this winter, Emerson has put up 80.3 points in those contest. 
•    The Lions are just 2-8 when making nine or less three-pointers this winter. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers are 7-2 this winter when shooting at least 40 percent from the field.
•    Babson is 8-1 this year and 20-2 over the last two seasons when outrebounding its opponents. 
•    The Green and White is 5-0 this season when it foes shoot below 40 percent. 
•    Babson is 7-1 on the year when scoring at least 75 points. 

UP NEXT 
•    The Beavers host WPI on Wednesday at 7 p.m.