Men's Basketball at Coast Guard
Saturday, February 17 | 1 p.m. 
Roland Hall | New London, Conn. 

SERIES HISTORY
•    Babson is 62-27 all-time against Coast Guard in a series that dates back to the 1972-73 campaign. 
•    The Beavers have won six in a row and 22 of their last 23 games against the Bears since 2012. 
•    The Green and White has won its last 12 games inside Roland Hall going back to 2011. 

LAST MEETING
•    Graduate student Steph Baxter tied for game-high honors with 19 points and converted a three-point play with 11.2 seconds remaining to lift the Beavers to a 76-75 win over Coast Guard on January 18 in Babson Park. 
•    Junior Nate Amado also scored 19 points and sophomore Jeremiah Paul added 10 points for Babson, which shot 55.6 percent in the second half and overcame a 10-point deficit with just over eight minutes to play. 
•    Declan Rooney posted a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds and Elijah Parent finished with 14 points to lead four players in double figures for the Bears, who led 42-36 at halftime. 

SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
•    Babson (12-12, 8-7 NEWMAC) has won four of its last five games after defeating Salve Regina, 63-49, in its regular season home finale last Saturday. 
•    Baxter scored 11 of his game-high 20 points in the final 90 seconds of the first half, junior David Cross added 12 points and the Beavers held the Seahawks to just 33.9 percent shooting to clinch a spot in the upcoming NEWMAC Tournament. 
•    Amado (20.2 pts, 6.8 reb) ranks first in the NEWMAC in scoring and fifth in rebounding, Baxter (18.4 pts, 3.6 reb, 3.0 ast) is shooting 43.5 percent and ranks second in the league in scoring and seventh in assists, and sophomore Timmy O'Toole (7.9 pts, 9.1 reb) is tied for second in the conference with 62 offensive boards. 
•    The Green and White ranks first in conference play in three-point field goal defense (28.4 percent) and offensive rebounds per game (12.6), and also is second in scoring defense allowing 65.7 points. 

SCOUTING THE BEARS
•    Coast Guard (14-10, 7-8 NEWMAC) has won two of its last three games after outlasting Salve Regina 90-85 on the road on Wednesday night. 
•    Rooney totaled 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists, Luke Farrell scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting and Parent added 17 points to lead three players in double figures for the Bears, who scored 22 points off the Seahawks' 18 turnovers. 
•    Mitch Shettles (14.0 pts, 4.4 reb) is shooting 48 percent and ranks seventh in the conference in scoring, Rooney (12.6 pts, 4.7 reb, 2.7 ast) has scored in double figures in four consecutive games and Parent (10.0 pts, 2.5 ast) has knocked down 13 three-pointers over the last five contests. 
•    Coast Guard ranks second in NEWMAC play in scoring offense (74.8 points) on 42.7 percent shooting and is committing just 10.6 turnovers per game.

BAXTER PICKS UP THIRD NEWMAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
•    In addition to putting up 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting against Salve Regina, Baxter scored 18 points at Wheaton and averaged 19.0 points and 2.5 assists while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three-point range on the way to earning his second consecutive conference offensive player of the week honor.
•    Baxter ranks third in free throw percentage (82.9), fifth in three-pointers (39), sixth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (40.6) and is shooting 43.5 percent from the floor, which is good for eighth.

NEWMAC TOURNAMENT SCEARIOS
•    Both Babson and Coast Guard have secured a spot in next week's conference tournament and enter Saturday's clash with a chance to clinch a home game in next Tuesday's quarterfinals. 
•    The Beavers can finish fourth with a victory and will move up to third with a win coupled with a WPI win over Wheaton. 
•    Coast Guard would need to not only defeat Babson but get a Springfield victory over second-place Clark to earn the fourth seed. 

CLAMPING DOWN ON DEFENSE
•    Babson has held each of its last six opponents below 70 points and is allowing just 58 points on 37.2 percent shooting in these contests. 
•    The Beavers' last six foes have hit just 22.3 percent of their three-point attempts and are scoring just 0.85 points per possession. 

TRENDS TO WATCH
•    Baxter has scored 15 or more points in 18 of his last 19 outings. 
•    O'Toole is averaging 5.3 offensive rebounds and 11.7 total boards over the last six contests. 
•    Cross is averaging 9.7 points while shooting 7-of-14 (50 percent) from beyond the arc over the last three games. 
•    First-year NeJohn Fortes is contributing 8.3 points on 52 percent shooting to go along with 6.3 rebounds over the last four outings. 

NUMBERS TO KNOW
•    The Beavers, who open the season with four consecutive road games, went 6-3 away from home last spring.
•    Babson was 12-1 last season when leading at halftime.
•    The Green and White went 8-2 last year when recording at least eight caused turnovers. 
•    The Beavers finished 9-2 in 2023 when winning at least half the face-offs. 

UP NEXT
•    Babson will face either Coast Guard or Emerson in a NEWMAC Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday. The game time and location will be determind following the conclusion of Saturday's games.