BABSON PARK, Mass.—Junior Marc Begin II (Carlsbad, Calif.) led three players in double figures with 24 points and Babson College built a 19-point second half lead on the way to defeating No. 4 Tufts University, 83-79, in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday night inside Staake Gymnasium. 

With the victory, Babson improves to 3-0 on the year while helping head coach Stephen Brennan record the 500th win of his career. Tufts opens the season at 0-1. 

Begin II added four assists and two steals, sophomore Timmy Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting to go along with five dimes and first-year Thomas Ferdinando (Andover, Mass.) scored 20 points as the Beavers' backcourt combined for 66 points. Senior Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) added eight points and classmate Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) tied for game-high honors with 10 rebounds in the win. 

Senior Scott Gyimesi (Fair Haven, N.J.) poured in 36 points on 16-of-23 shooting to go along with 10 boards and three steals, while classmate Joshua Bernstein (Miami, Fla.) added 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds to lead the Jumbos. 

The Green and White made 12 of its first 15 shots and Ferdinando and Mulvey combined to knock down seven three-pointers to on the way to building a 37-26 advantage with 7:38 to go in the first half. Gyimesi scored six of the next eight points and Tufts closed the period with a 16-3 run to take a 42-40 lead into the locker thanks to a late bucket by Bernstein. 

The Jumbos took their largest lead of the night at 44-40 on two free throws by Gyimesi just 43 seconds into the second half only to see Begin II answer with a three-point play that sparked a 26-4 run by the hosts. Begin II scored again on the next possession, Ferdinando buried consecutive three-pointers and Begin II followed with a triple of his own to give Babson a 54-44 edge at the 17:01 mark. 

Gyimesi scored four quick points for Tufts but Mulvey countered with consecutive three-pointers, Begin II converted another three-point play and junior NeJohn Fortes (New Bedford, Mass.) scored on a putback to make it 66-48 with 13:29 remaining. Begin II gave the Beavers their largest advantage of the night at 71-52 with 11:32 to go before the visitors slowly chipped away. 

Gyimesi scored 13 of Tufts' next 18 points and cut the deficit to 78-70 on a short jumper with 2:30 left. Ferdinando answered with a layup but the Jumbos followed with the next seven points to get as close as 80-77 on two free throws by junior Jon Medley (Laurelton, N.Y.) with 35 seconds remaining. O'Toole went 2-of-2 at the free throw line to make it a two-possession game and first-year Robby Fiore (Acton, Mass.) knocked down another free throw with 16.1 seconds left to put the game out of reach. 

The Beavers shot 46.6 percent from the floor and 48.3 percent (14-of-29) from beyond the arc, and went 11-of-15 (73.3 percent) at the charity stripe in the second half. The Jumbos shot 42.9 percent on the night and finished with a slim 37-35 edge on glass while outscoring the Green and White 40-18 in the paint. 

Babson is back in action on Tuesday when it travels to Lasell at 7 p.m., while Tufts visits Endicott on Sunday at 1 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 17-28 all-time against Tufts and have six of the last eight matchups between the teams over the last 11 years. 
•    The 2017 NABC coach of the Year, Brennan ranks ninth among active Division III coaches with 500 career wins. 
•    Babson is 3-0 this season in games decided by five points or less and has won its last four games against NESCAC foes going back to the 2023-24 campaign.
•    The Beavers are 10-1 going back to the start of last year when scoring 80 points or more.