NORTON, MA- The sixth-seeded Babson College men's basketball team downed number-three Wheaton College, 72-65 in the first round of the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament on Wednesday evening in Emerson Gymnasium.

The Lyons, the only team to advance to nine of the first 10 conference semifinals, ended the year at 14-12, while the Beavers broke even at 13-13. Babson opposes second-seeded Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. in a semifinal at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI).

Wheaton, which had not lost in its first 11 postseason home games, was paced by junior Ben Stehle's (Newton, MA/Newton South) 13 points on 5-of-8 shooting to go along with five rebounds. Sophomore Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) added 11 points, while senior Nick Michel (Hyde Park, MA/Boston Latin School) went 5-of-6 for 10 points in his final collegiate game.

Babson freshman Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, ME/Boothbay Region) paced all scorers with 20 points, going 7-of-8 from the floor and 6-of-9 on free-throw attempts, while snagging six rebounds. Sophomore Shelton Ladson (New York, NY/Frederick Douglas Academy) went 4-of-6 from three-point range and tallied 17 points off the bench.

Both teams shot well in the opening half, as the Lyons were shooting nearly 70 percent before missing their final four shots. Wheaton finished at 56.5 percent while holding a 14-6 advantage on the glass, while the Beavers hit on 52 percent of their tries, including going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc.

Outside of a 53-span near the middle of the period where the visitors held a 21-16 edge, neither team led by more than four points during the stanza. From there, Wheaton went on an 11-2 run behind four points from Coppola, grabbing a 27-23 advantage by the 6:57 mark. Michel snapped a tie in the final 3:30 with back-to-back buckets, but Babson senior Zach Etten (Hollis, NH/Hollis Brookline) knocked down a three to make it 33-32 with 2:08 left for the final points of the period.

Stehle's jumper put the Lyons up 38-34 1:29 into the second half, but five points from Beaver sophomore Dana Mauro (Wethersfield, CT/Wethersfield) sparked a 7-0 run that made it 41-38. Senior Mark Sullivan (West Roxbury, MA/Catholic Memorial) responded with a tying three-pointer at 10:22 and a trey that brought Wheaton within one at 9:29 before a Stehle long-range shot from the corner put the hosts on top 51-49 with 8:47 to go.

A three-point play by sophomore Matt Zoia (Nashua, NH/Bishop Guertin) put Babson in front for good at 8:23 before Ladson banked home a three to push the visitors' advantage to 61-56 with 3:34 remaining. Wheaton never came closer than three, as Babson's final seven points came on free throws.