Men's Basketball vs. Springfield
Saturday, February 3 | 1 p.m.
Staake Gymnasium | Babson Park, Mass. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 29-43 all-time against Springfield in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 campaign.
•    The Beavers had their four-game winning streak in the series snapped by the Pride back in early January. 
•    The Green and White has gone 8-2 at home versus Springfield going back to 2015.
•    Over the last eight seasons, the teams have split their regular season matchups just twice (2018, 2019)

LAST MEETING
•    Zeke Blauner and John Paulino both scored 15 points and the Pride shot 54.7 percent from the floor on the way to defeating Babson, 90-54, back on January 9. 
•    Curtis Blische finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for Springfield, which went 10-of-19 from three-point range and led 41-19 at halftime. 
•    Junior David Cross scored a season-high 13 points while classmate Nate Amado contributed eight points and nine rebounds for the Beavers, who shot just 26.5 percent while suffering its worst loss since 1996. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS 
•    Babson (10-11, 6-6 NEWMAC) has won two straight games after pulling away for an 84-68 victory at MIT on Wednesday night. 
•    Junior Aidan Horan scored a career-high 20 points, sophomore Timmy O'Toole posted a double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds and graduate student Steph Baxter added 15 points for the Beavers, who closed the game with a 25-9 run. 
•    Amado (20.2 pts, 6.8 reb, 1.2 blocks) ranks first in the conference in scoring, fourth in blocks and seventh in rebounding, Baxter (18.3 pts, 3.7 reb, 3.2 ast) is second in the league in scoring and seventh in assists, and O'Toole (7.8 pts, 8.3 reb) ranks fifth in the NEWMAC with 48 offensive rebounds despite missing eight games. 
•    The Green and White is averaging 69.5 pointsover its last five games and ranks first in offensive rebounds per game (12.5) while committing the second fewest turnovers (11.9) in league play. 

SCOUTING THE PRIDE
•    Springfield (7-13,3 4-7 NEWMAC) has won two of its last three games after defeating Salve Regina, 73-57, on Wednesday night. 
•    Josiah Evely finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four blocks and four steals, while Xoren Livingston added 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the Pride, which built an early 15-point lead and turned 15 Seahawks' turnovers into 20 points in the win.
•    Joseph Hoch (9.6 pts, 4.4 reb) has scored in double figures in two of the last three games, Blische (8.9 pts, 6.2 reb) is shooting 46.8 percent from the floor and Evely (8.5 pts, 5.1 reb) ranks second in the conference with 26 blocked shots. 
•    Springfield, which is 0-5 on the road in league play, ranks second in the NEWMAC holding opponents to 39.1 percent shooting and third in scoring defense allowing 68.5 points.

NEARLY PERFECT AT THE FREE THROW LINE
•    The Beavers finished 23-of-24 at the free throw line (.958) and knocked down all 18 of their second-half attempts in Wednesday's win at MIT.
•    Babson recorded its highest percentage when making at least 20 free throws over the last decade and its 23 points at the charity stripe are its most since going 28-of-35 versus Husson in the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. 

COMING THROUGH IN THE CLUTCH
•    Horan broke a 59-59 deadlock by converting a three-point play with 4:53 to go on Wednesday night, spearheading the Beavers' 25-9 closing run. 
•    He scored 13 of his career-high 20 points during the spurt as the Green and White put up points on each of its final 10 possessions to record its second consecutive conference road win. 

SUPPORTING AFTD
•    For the third season in a row, the Babson men's basketball program has partnered with Spencer Cline M'22 to raise money and awareness for The Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration (AFTD). 
•    Cline, who lost his father to FTD in 2012, has raised more than $23,000 over the past three years. 
•    FTD is the most common form of dementia for people under the age of 60. It strikes in the prime of life, gradually eroding an individual's personality: their ability to speak, make sound decisions, control their movements, behave within social norms and relate to those they love.
•    In addition to online donations, Saturday's contest will also feature cash raffle with a chance to win two sets of two tickets to the Boston Celtics game agianst the Philadelphia 76ers on February 27. 

BEAVER BITES
•    Baxter has scored at least 15 points in 15 of his last 16 outings and is averaging 3.8 assists over the last four contests. 
•    O'Toole has pulled down 18 offensive rebounds in three games since returning from injury and is averaging 11.0 boards during this stretch.
•    Horan has scored in double figures in three straight games and is averaging 14.3 points on 50 percent shooting during this time.
•    First-year NeJohn Fortes scored a career-high 10 points on 5-of-9 shooting while adding five rebounds and two steals in the win at MIT.

PLAYOFF PUSH
•    Babson enters the weekend leading a group of six teams that are separated by just two games for the final four spots in the NEWMAC Tournament. 
•    The Beavers (6-6) lead Coast Guard (5-6), Wheaton (5-6) and Emerson (5-6) by a half-game entering the day while Springfield (4-7) and Salve Regina (4-8) are just two games back in the win column. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers have scored at least 18 second-chance points in three consecutive games.
•    Babson is 9-3 this winter when shooting at least 40 percent.
•    The Green and White is 9-2 on the year and 34-4 over the last three years when outrebounding its foes.
•    The Beavers are 9-4 this season when scoring at least 70 points. 

UP NEXT
•    Babson travels to Wheaton next Wednesday at 7 p.m.