The upset-minded Husson University men’s basketball team had visions of shocking one of the top teams in the country in Babson College on Friday night.
But it was not to be as the Beavers erupted in the second half.
Third-ranked Babson started the second half on a 23-9 run and never looked back en route to a 92-76 NCAA Division III tournament sectional victory over the Eagles at Babson Park, Massachusetts.
The 26-2 Beavers take on Skidmore on Saturday night while coach Warren Caruso’s North Atlantic Conference champion Husson ballclub winds up 21-7.
Husson only trailed by one at halftime, but the Eagles were only able to make four field-goal attempts over the first seven minutes of the second half as Babson built a 15-point lead.
The Eagles got no closer than seven in the second half.
Babson was paced by guard Joey Flannery, who led all scorers with 28 points on 9-for-22 shooting.
Isaiah Nelson posted a double-double, scoring 24 points and hauling in 12 rebounds. Nick Comenale was the other Babson player in double figures with 12 points.
Raheem Anderson did all he could to keep the Eagles in striking distance, as he registered 17 points and eight rebounds before fouling out late in the second half.
Anderson was held to 7-of-31 shooting from the floor, while Husson shot 29-for-83 (39 percent) overall.
Mitch Worcester also recorded 17 points for the Eagles while Zach Curran and Eli Itkin contributed 12 points each.
The Eagles and Babson went toe to toe in a tightly contested first half that sent Babson into the locker room up by a point at 44-43.
The Beavers led by as many as six at one point, but Husson fought back to take a brief 37-36 lead on an Anderson perimeter shot. However, the Eagles managed just one more field goal over the final five minutes of the frame.
Babson outscored Husson 44-30 in the paint.
