CAMBRIDGE, Mass.—Junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) scored 13 of his career-high 20 points during a 25-9 closing run to help visiting Babson College defeat MIT, 84-68, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night inside Rockwell Cage.  

With its second consecutive victory, Babson improves to 10-11 overall and 6-6 in conference play. MIT had its two-game winning streak snapped and is now 4-17 overall and 3-9 in the NEWMAC. 

Sophomore Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) posted his second double-double of the year with 17 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, while graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) added 15 points for the Beavers. First-year NeJohn Fortes (New Bedford, Mass.) scored a season-high 10 points and sophomore Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) chipped in with eight in the victory. 

First-year Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, N.C.) finished with 17 points and six rebounds and classmates Will Bland (Virgina Beach, Va.) and Merlin Gogolin (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with 16 points apiece for the Engineers. Junior Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, Calif.) also scored 10 points and grabbed five boards in the loss. 

Tied at 59 with just over five minutes play, Horan converted a three-point play and then followed a hoop by Baxter with a triple to give the Green and White a 68-63 edge. MIT got back within five thanks to two free throws by Dobie with 3:20 left but Baxter followed by going 2-of-2 at the charity stripe and Horan and Paul knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to make it 78-66 with 1:43 remaining. 

Horan and junior David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) combined to go 6-of-6 at the free throw line over the final 1:19 to put the game away. 

The first half featured nine ties and three lead changes with the largest lead for either team coming at the 6:48 mark when Bland capped an 8-2 burst to put MIT up 28-22. Fortes got Babson back within one two minutes later, first-year Jared Flaks (West Hartford, Conn.) tied the game at 33 with a layup with 1:46 left and Baxter buried four straight free throws following back-to-back technical fouls on the Engineers to give the Beavers a 38-35 lead at the break. 

O'Toole scored six points early in the second half to help the Green and White push the margin to 50-41 with 14:36 to play. MIT scored the next six points to get within three but Paul hit a pair of free throws and Horan canned a three-pointer to make it 55-47 with 11:18 remaining. Babson made just one field goal over the next four-plus minutes though, and sophomore Tim Minicozzi (Belmont, Mass.) drained a triple to put the hosts in front 58-57 with 6:29 to play. 

The Beavers shot 42.4 percent from the floor, outscored the Engineers 44-34 in the paint and finished 23-of-24 (95.8 percent) from the free throw line in the win. MIT shot 44.4 percent on the night but just 32.3 percent in the second half while finishing 2-of-15 from beyond the arc (13.3 percent). 

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Springfield at 1 p.m. while MIT takes on Coast Guard at 2 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 62-25 all-time against MIT and have won seven consecutive games in the series. 
•    Wednesday's result snapped a string of four straight overtime games between the teams inside Rockwell Cage.
•    Babson is now 9-3 when shooting better than 40 percent and 9-2 on the year when outrebounding its foes. 
•    Horan has averaged 15.7 points on 63 percent shooting over his last three games versus MIT.
•    The Beavers have now scored at least 18 second-chance points in three consecutive outings.