THE BASICS:

- Score: No. 22 Babson College 72, MIT 52

- Records: MIT (9-8, 2-4 NEWMAC); No. 22 Babson College (14-3, 4-2 NEWMAC)

- Location: Babson Park, Mass. (Staake Gymnasium)

- The Lead: On Saturday afternoon, the MIT men's basketball team dropped a 72-52 road final to No. 22 Babson College in the first of two meetings over the next 11 days between the two rivals.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- The Beavers led from the outset, but with 5:20 left in the first half it was MIT within 26-22 following a three-pointer from sophomore Julian Manyika (San Francisco, Calif.). Babson went on a quick 7-0 run though to build to a double-digit lead at 33-22 after a layup from Crew Ainge. The hosts eventually took a 39-25 edge into the halftime break after back-to-back baskets from Colin Bradanese that included a tip-in at the buzzer.

- In the second half, a Bradanese layup at the 15:48 mark pushed the lead to 21 at 50-29 as the Beavers eventually led by as many as 26 with 5:05 remaining. An 8-0 MIT scoring run, capped by a layup from sophomore Giannis Chatziveroglou (Athens, Greece), pulled the Engineers within 18 before Babson came away with the 20-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  

- First-year Kael Kordonowy (Wichita, Kan.) led MIT with 15 points, while Chatziveroglou chipped in seven points, five rebounds and a game-high four steals.

- Jack Coolahan led the Beavers with a game-high 24 points on 10-for-15 shooting from the field. Bradanese added 14 points and Andrew Jaworski pulled down a game-high eight rebounds to go along with five points and four assists.

- Babson outrebounded MIT by a 38-19 margin, including 8-0 on the offensive glass. Each team committed 13 turnovers, while the Beavers had 15 assists on 32 made field goals.

- The Engineers outscored Babson by a 15-2 margin at the free throw line, hitting on 15-of-20 chances. The Beavers held MIT to 1-for-15 shooting from three-point land as well while shooting 53.3 percent from the field overall.

UP NEXT:

- MIT returns to action on Wednesday, January 29th as the Engineers host Clark University for a 7 p.m. start.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on MIT Athletics, follow the Engineers via social media on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.