PHOTO GALLERYBABSON PARK, Mass.- Senior guard Andre King scored 26 points for Westfield, and the Owls led #4 ranked Babson College by 10 points early in the second half, but Babson rallied late to take a 75-62 decision from the Owls in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Staake Gymnasium.
Babson sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) finished with 28 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists in leading Babson to it's 14
th straight win. Babson (26-2) collected its first NCAA Tournament win since 2004, and tied the 2002-03 team for the most wins in program history.
King was tremendous for the Owls in defeat, scoring 26 points to go along with six rebounds and two steals. Classmate Grant Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) finished with 16 points and four boards, while fellow senior Robby Jones (Chicopee, Mass.) added nine points in the loss.
"I know we fell very short of our initial goal, but it something to be proud of still," said King after the game. "We really represented our school well . . . it's something you'll never forget. You'll grow old and think back years from now and be appreciative."
Westfield State, which had won 15 of its last 16 games, sees its season come to an end at 20-7, just the third team in program history to post 20 wins in a season, and just the third time Westfield's men's basketball went to the NCAA tourney.
"It's been years since a Westfield team has done this," said King. "It has kind of got our feet wet, and left a taste in our mouth that says we want this again."
"We have great young guys coming up," said Copoper. "I know that when we leave our work ethic and competitiveness and our hungriness is still ther . I believe we will be back next year and hopefully make some more noise."
King scored eight early points to stake Westfield State to a 15-12 lead at the 12:24 mark, but the Green and White ripped off six straight points over its next four possessions to grab an 18-15 edge. King put the Owls back in front 20-18 with a pair of free throws, but five straight points from Flannery and a jumper from Dean to beat the shot clock gave the Beavers their biggest lead of the half at 25-20 with 5:20 to go in the stanza.
Sophomore Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) put Westfield State back in front 28-27 with a pair at the line, but Wickey hit a jumper for the sixth lead change of the half, giving Babson a 29-28 lead at the break.
The Owls scored the first eight points of the second half to take a 36-29 lead on a layup by senior Dan Tessier (Uxbridge, Mass.) with 17:53 to play. A three-pointer by Wickey and three straight points from Mack helped the Beavers get back to within four, but a hoop by Cooper, followed by six consecutive points from King helped Westfield State grabbed its largest lead of the night at 47-37 with 12:25 remaining.
Babson responded though, ripping off a 19-2 run to build a seven-point lead. After scoring on four of its next six possessions to cut its deficit to 49-45, a Wickey layup made a two-point game, and back-to-back hoops by Dean and sophomore Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) put the hosts in front 51-49. After Flannery nailed a corner three that bounced three times before dropping, Wickey hit a pair at the line to make it 56-49 with 5:18 to play.
The Owls got within three twice, the final time coming on a layup by sophomore Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mass.) to make it 58-55 with 3:35 left, but the Beavers scored 15 of its final 17 points at the free throw line to pull away late.
"I thought we executed our game plan real well, which was to play quickly, move the ball, find Grant and Andre in some good spots and I thought we did," said Owls head coach Rich Sutter. "Second half, we kind of hit a dead spot there at a really bad time and they clicked on and that was the run that put them over the top, just came at a bad sport for us."
"Grant cramped up a little bit we had to take him out for a few minutes, we lost our speed a little bit, lost our hammer, and took a couple a bad shots that spurred their transition."
The Beavers shot 48 percent (24-of-50) and outscored Westfield State 34-32 in the paint. Babson also held a 33-28 advantage on the glass.
The Owls shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) verall and were just 4-of-18 from beyond the arc.
Babson will return to action on Saturday when its hosts 21
st-ranked Scranton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament at 7 p.m.
