BABSON PARK, Mass.—Graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) led three players in double figures with 23 points and fourth-seeded Babson College built a 21-point halftime lead on the way to defeating the fifth-seeded Coast Guard Academy, 87-76, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament quarterfinal on Tuesday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With its fifth win in the last seven games, Babson improves to 13-13 overall and advances to the conference semifinals for the fourth year in a row. Coast Guard sees its season come to a close at 15-11. 

Junior Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.), who was playing in his first game since January 20, finished with 22 points, six rebounds and three assists, while classmate David Cross (Cinnaminson, N.J.) contributed a career-high 18 points to go along with five boards and three dimes to lead the Beavers. 

Sophomore Mitch Shettles (New Albany, Miss.) poured in 30 points on 11-of-22 shooting to pace the Bears. Junior Declan Rooney (Seattle, Wash.) added 14 points and four assists in the loss. 

Shettles, who made his first four shots, knocked down a triple to tie the game at 11 before the Green and White seized command with an 11-0 run. Sophomore Mark Woolhouse (Lebanon, N.J.) canned a pair of three-pointers, Baxter scored on a hard drive to the hoop and Cross canned another trifecta to make it 22-11 at the 10:53 mark. 

The lead was 12 just under four minutes later when Baxter followed up a triple by junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) with consecutive three-pointers as part of an 11-2 burst to give the Beavers their largest lead of the game with 5:26 to go until halftime. Shettles and first-year Jordan Frazer (Columbia, S.C.) scored all the points during a 12-4 run to close the stanza and sophomore Luke Farrell (Ortley, N.J.) buried a jumper on the opening possession of the second half to pull Coast Guard within 48-38. 

Babson pushed its advantage back to 17 twice over the first four minutes of the second period and maintained a double-digit advantage until Farrell knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the Bears' deficit to 68-60 with 8:10 remaining. Hoops by sophomore Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) and Amado helped Babson regain a 12-point edge and sparked a 13-5 spurt that helped put the game away. 

Amado responded to a three-point play by Rooney with five straight points to make it 77-63 with 5:10 to go and Baxter canned 1-of-2 free throws after a three-point play by O'Toole to give the Green and White an 81-65 advantage with 3:10 left. 

The Beavers shot 58.6 percent in the first half and 46.9 percent for the game from the field in addition to going 13-of-29 (44.8 percent) from beyond the arc. The Green and White also turned 17 Coast Guard turnovers into 20 points. 

The Bears shot 48.2 percent from the field and finished with a slim 34-33 edge on the glass. 

Babson travels to top-seeded WPI for a NEWMAC Tournament semifinal on Thursday at 7 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 63-28 all-time against Coast Guard and 2-5 in conference tournament play against the Bears. 
•    Babson's 48 first-half points are their most since putting up 50 in the opening period against Wheaton back on February 2, 2022. 
•    The Green and White made 10 first-half three-pointers and matched its season high with 13 triples in the win. 
•    The Beavers finished with a season-high nine blocked shots in the win. 
•    Babson is now 11-3 this season when shooting at least 40 percent.