This release is courtesy of Babson Athletic Communications.
GLASSBORO, N.J. – Graduate student Darius Hopkins (Tampa, Fla.) scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed six rebounds as Utica University upended Babson College, 72-60, in the first round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament at Rowan University's Esbjornsen Gymnasium.
Babson, which had a six-game winning streak snapped, ends its season with a 19-9 record, while Utica improves to 23-4 and moves on to a second-round game Saturday against host Rowan, an 83-77 winner over Cal Lutheran in Friday's second game.
Sophomore Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) led all players with 24 points and seven rebounds for Babson, connecting on 10-of-20 shots from the field. Graduate student Ryan Cibull (Alameda, Calif.) contributed 11 points (of 5-of-10 shooting), five assists and four steals, first-year Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) chipped in with nine points and six rebounds, and senior Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, Ill.) scored 10 points off the bench in the loss.
Hopkins made 8-of-12 shots for the Pioneers, including 3-of-5 from three-point range, while senior Thomas Morreale (Whitesboro, N.Y.) added 15 points and four rebounds and classmate Justice Brantley (Catskill, N.Y.) contributed 14 points and a team-high seven rebounds after converting 12-of-14 free throw attempts.
After Amado and Morreale traded three-pointers in the first minute of the game, Babson inched ahead on baskets by Lauder and Cibull. The Beavers maintained a small lead until a driving layup by Morreale knotted the score at 11-all. The Green and White pulled ahead on a three-pointer by Kirkpatrick and a layup by Amado, but Utica answered with 13 unanswered points over a five-minute stretch to take a 24-16 lead. Five different Pioneer players scored in surge, led by graduate student Avery Coston (Kerhonkson, N.Y.) with a three-pointer and Brantley with four free throws.
Babson bounced back and answered with a 16-4 run to regain a 32-28 lead with a minute to go in the half. Amado sparked the rally with a three-pointer and added three more buckets while Cibull hit a pair of layups to support the cause.
Hopkins closed the half with a bucket for Utica, sending the teams to the locker room with Babson up 32-30. Amado led all players with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting with three rebounds at the break.
Hopkins drained a three-ball to open the second half to give the Pioneers the lead but the two teams were tied at 37 after an Amado jumper with just under 16 minutes to play. Utica then rattled off 13 straight points over the next five minutes, including two baskets each by Hopkins and Morreale and a three-pointer and a layup by junior Damien Call (Rome, N.Y.) to make it 50-37 with 10:53 on the clocl.
Babson fought back and pulled to within nine points (55-46) after a three-pointer by senior Aaron Gao (Bridgewater, N.J.) with 7:18 to play, and to with eight points (57-49) after a three-ball by Kirkpatrick. The Beavers whittled the deficit down to six (59-53) with five minutes to go after a Kirkpatrick jumper but Utica answered with six straight points to push the margin back up into double digits with two-and-a-half to go.
The Beavers made a last gasp on a Cibull three-pointer with 2:11 to play and a jumper with 55 seconds remaining but the clock ran out on a comeback by the Green and White.
Babson shot just 39.1 percent on the evening, including 21.4 percent from beyond the arc while Utica connected on 52.4 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep. The Beavers made just 4-of-6 free throws while the Pioneers went 22-of-29 from the charity stripe and enjoyed a 36-28 rebounding margin.
GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are now 1-1 against Utica in the all-time series that dates back to 2012.
• Babson's 21.4 percent from three-point range was its lowest since connecting of just 15.4 percent in a loss at MIT back on January 18.
• The Green and White lost for just the fourth time in 17 games this season after leading at halftime.
• Amado has averaged 17.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in three career NCAA Tournament games, shooting 47.6 percent from the field.