NEWPORT, R.I.—First-year Thomas Ferdinando (Andover, Mass.) and sophomore Timmy Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) combined for 34 first-half points and visiting Babson College shot a season-best 60.7 percent in a dominating 98-64 victory over Salve Regina University in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside the Rodgers Recreation Center. 

Babson, which has won seven in a row and 13 of its last 14 games, closes the regular season at 19-6 overall and 13-3 in conference play, and will be the number two seed in next week's NEWMAC Tournament. Salve Regina falls to 18-7 overall and finishes third in league standings at 11-5. 

Ferdinando finished with a game-high 23 points, five rebounds and four assists, while Mulvey added 19 points on 6-of-8 shooting to go along with a career-high four steals to pace the Beavers. Sophomore Logan Murphy (Sandwich, Mass.) provided 10 points and three assists, classmate Ryan Frauenheim (Manasquan, N.J.) chipped in with eight points, four assists and three steals as seven players scored at least seven points in the rout. 

Senior Sean Seymour (Albany, N.Y.) and junior Pat Spenard (Rochester, Mass.) both scored 18 points to lead the Seahawks, who also got 12 points off the bench from sophomore Zavier Francoeur (Canton, Mass.). 

The Green and White jumped out to a quick 12-0 lead and scored on nine of its first 10 possessions to forge a 20-8 advantage less than six minutes into the contest. Salve Regina pulled back within nine on a layup by junior Domenic Malvey (Newton, N.H.) but the Beavers outscored the hosts 24-6 over the final 7:23 of the first half to take a 24-point lead into the locker room. 

Mulvey and Ferdinando combined for nine straight points extending the margin to 36-18 at the 5:27 mark, senior Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) and sophomore Vaughn Foster (Paramus, N.J.) converted offensive rebounds into points and Mulvey, Ferdinando and Frauenheim all knocked down late three-pointers to make it 51-27 at the break. 

The Seahawks cut their deficit to 20 in the first two minutes of the second half but were unable to get any closer as Babson answered with triples by Mulvey and Murphy and an old-fashioned three-point play by O'Toole as part of an 11-4 spurt that stretched the margin back to 64-37 with 14:28 to play. First-year Robby Fiore (Acton, Mass.) gave the Green and White its first 30-point lead of the afternoon with a trifecta at the 8:25 mark and the visitors led by as many as 39 in the final three minutes after a layup by Frauenheim. 

The Beavers shot better than 60 percent in each half and matched their season high with 16 three-pointers while shooting 59.3 percent from beyond the arc. They also scored 35 points off turnovers and finished with 21 second-chance points. 

Salve Regina shot 48.8 percent for the game but attempted just 15 shots while turning the ball over 14 times in the opening 20 minutes. 

Babson will host the winner of third-seeded Salve Regina and sixth-seeded Clark in the NEWMAC semifinals on Thursday at 7 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are now 16-4 all-time against Salve Regina and have swept the regular season series in back-to-back seasons. 
•    Babson finished the regular season 7-1 on the road in NEWMAC play with six wins by double digits. 
•    The Green and White is now 8-1 this winter when shooting better than 50 percent from the field. 
•    The Beavers are 12-0 on the year when scoring at least 80 points and 14-1 when making 10 or more three-pointers.