HARTFORD, Conn.—Senior Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) led four players in double figures with 18 points and sophomore Timmy Mulvey (Reading, Mass.) added 17 points and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:18 remaining to lift Babson College to a 71-67 win over Saint Joseph's College of Maine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday inside Ray Oosting Gymnasium. 

Babson, which is has won 10 in a row and 16 of its 17 games, improves to 22-6 on the year and advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. Saint Joseph's, which had its 17-game winning streak snapped, ends the season at 20-9. 

First-year Thomas Ferdinando (Andover, Mass.) finished with 13 points and six rebounds, while sophomore Ryan Frauenheim (Manasquan, N.J.) contributed 10 points, three boards and three steals for the Beavers. O'Toole led all players with nine rebounds and two blocks to go along with three steals, senior Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) chipped in with seven points and eight boards, and sophomore Logan Murphy (Sandwich, Mass.) added six points and three steals in the win. 

Senior Wani Donato (Portland, Maine) led all players with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting and classmate John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) scored 14 points and grabbed six rebounds as all five Monks' starters scored in double figures. Junior Remijo Wani () provided 13 points, eight boards and eight assists but turned the ball over 10 times, senior Tong Maiwen () added 11 points and a game-high five blocks, and first-year Davis Mann (Falmouth, Maine) finished with 10 points. 

The opening half featured six ties and 10 lead changes with the Green and White going up 17-11 at the 11:40 mark on a three-pointer by Mulvey. Saint Joseph's answered back with a 12-3 run that included six straight points by Frazier to go up 23-20 five minutes later, but Babson got four late points from Murphy, a bucket by Lauder and a triple from Frauenheim to take a 32-30 advantage into the break. 

The Beavers opened a 40-33 lead on a driving layup by Murphy just over three minutes into the second half but the Monks answered by scoring on four straight possessions to cut their deficit to 44-42 on a bucket by Wani with 13:40 to play. Babson responded with a 13-6 spurt that included a pair of triples by Mulvey to take its largest advantage of the night at 57-48 on a three-point play by Ferdinando with 9:19 to go. 

Wani scored six consecutive points to pull Saint Joseph's within one a the 5:02 mark, a three-pointer by Maiwen trimmed Babson's lead to 66-65 with 2:48 remaining and Mann converted a backdoor layup to give the Monks their first lead since late in the first half at 67-66 with 1:46 to play. Mulvey countered with a left-wing triple 28 seconds later and Mann's three-pointer at the other end went in-and-out giving the Green and White the ball back with 43 ticks left. 

Saint Joseph's got the ball back with 12 seconds remaining but committed its 16th turnover of the night. 

The Beavers, who committed a season-low four turnovers, shot 41.5 percent from the field and were just 31.8 percent from beyond the arc. The Monks shot 55.6 percent in the second half and 48.3 percent for the game while finishing with a 41-29 advantage on the glass. 

Babson will face either No. 1 Trinity or Keuka in Saturday's second round at 7 p.m. 

GAME NOTES
•    Friday's contest was the first in program history for the Beavers against Saint Joseph's. 
•    Babson is now 6-6 all-time in NCAA Tournament first round games and now 10-5 this season in road and neutral-court games. 
•    The Green and White is 9-0 on the year when forcing at least 16 turnovers and 14-1 when allows fewer than 70 points. 
•    The Beavers are 7-1 this winter in games decided by five points or less although Friday's win was their first since January 13. 
•    Mulvey's five triples are tied for the second most by a Babson player in NCAA Tournament history and he needs just one more to become the second player in program history to reach 100 in a season.