SPRINGFIELD, Mass.—Senior Zeke Blauner (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) and sophomore John Paulino (New Bedford, Mass.) both scored 15 points and Springfield College shot a season-best 54.7 percent to defeat visiting Babson College, 90-54, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Tuesday afternoon inside Blake Arena. 

Babson, which has dropped five of its last six games, dips to 6-8 overall and 2-3 in league play. Springfield improves to 5-8 overall and 2-2 in the NEWMAC with its second win in the last three outings.

Junior David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) matched his career high with 13 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while classmate Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) added eight points and a game-high nine rebounds to pace the Beavers. 

Junior Curtiss Blische (Barkhamsted, Conn.) finished with 13 points and eight boards and graduate student Joseph Hoch (South Ozone Park, N.Y.) chipped in with nine points as 13 different players scored in the game for the Pride. 

Amado and junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) both scored five early points and the Green and White pulled within two at 16-14 on a bucket by sophomore Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) at the 11:45 mark of the opening half before the hosts went on a 25-5 run to seize control of the game. The trio of Blauner, Blische and first-year Xoren Livingston (Wayland, Mass.) combined for 13 points as the Pride scored nine times in a stretch of 12 possessions to build a 36-15 advantage with 3:59 to go before halftime.

Horan snapped a field-goal drought of nearly eight minutes on the ensuing possession but junior Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) canned two free throws and Paulino knocked down a jumper to push the Springfield lead to 41-19 at the break. Paulino scored eight of the Pride's first 10 points in the second half and Blauner followed with a pair of three-pointers and nine consecutive points to extend the margin to 61-29 with 13:29 to go in the contest. 

Springfield, which finished 10-of-19 (52.6 percent) from beyond the arc in the game, took its largest lead of the afternoon at 84-41 on a triple by first-year Yuki Ishibashi (Chiba, Japan) with just over three minutes to play. 

The Beavers shot 26.5 percent from the floor and just 5-of-24 (20.8) percent from three-point range in the loss. The Pride finished with a 46-36 edge on the glass and outscored the Green and White in the paint 46-26. 

Both teams are back in action on Thursday at 7 p.m. as Babson hosts Wheaton while Springfield takes on Coast Guard at 12 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    Babson is now 29-43 all-time against Springfield and Tuesday's loss snapped a four-game winning streak in the series. 
•    Prior to Tuesday, the Beavers had won eight of their last 10 games against the Pride in Blake Arena. 
•    Babson has outscored each of its last three opponents at the free throw line after being outscored by 10 of its first 11 foes. 
•    Amado was held to his lowest point total in 17 games going back to last year when he finished with four points in a win over MIT on February 13.