Tag: Marcus McDermott

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Mass College Hoops Recap: Babson 62, Wheaton 58

By Matt Noonan 

BABSON PARK, MA – With 6.4 seconds remaining in the second half, as well as a two-point advantage, Babson College junior Alex Rudolph marched to the free throw line, and sank two of the biggest shots in his collegiate career, which helped the Beavers prevail against Wheaton College in the NEWMAC quarterfinals, 62-58.

“I’m not going to lie to you and say there wasn’t pressure, but you fight your whole life, your whole career, you work to get to moments like that and I’m just glad I hit them,” said Rudolph, who turned in 19 points, and six rebounds.

Babson College head coach Stephen Brennan, who’s patrolled the Beavers sideline for the past 17 years, was quite shocked that this particular contest was won by Rudolph’s two free throws, especially since his squad struggled from the charity stripe, and connected on 11-of-24 attempts.

“We didn’t really talk much about the free throws, but [Alex] has been playing with great confidence. He was player of the week [in] the NEWMAC last week, and he’s just stepped up his competitive level to a new one,” said Brennan.

Brennan continued by saying, “It was great that he was willing to step up and make those because we had some other guys who didn’t.”

Rudolph jumpstarted Babson’s offense with a jump shot before sophomore Matt Palazini sank a three-pointer, and freshman David Mack recorded a layup to give the Beavers a comfortable, 8-0 advantage.

Wheaton junior Cliften Desravines, (14 points, nine rebounds, four blocks) eventually got the Lyons on the board with two made free throws at 13:16, which ended a scoring drought of seven consecutive missed shots. Desravines then added a layup before senior Brendan Degnan, (13 points) sank two back-to-back free throws, which cut the deficit to 12-6.

“I just thought that at least at that point, we could have very easily been down 13 or 14 or 15 [points], so our defense really helped us stay close, and I thought Cliff gave us a big lift off the bench to get us some baskets, to get us going a little bit midway in the first half,” said Wheaton head coach Brian Walmsley.

“I thought Desravines played much better than he’s ever played against us,” said Brennan. “He did a good job spinning and finishing over our big guys.”

The Lyons then added a few more points from the free throw line before freshman John Wickey and Randolph sank back-to-back trifectas late in the first frame, which gave Babson a 30-24 lead at intermission.

“We just came out with a lot of intensity [in the first half],” said Rudolph. “Coach was preaching ‘energy’ before the game, and we just tried to come out, play as hard as we could on defense.”

Wickey and junior Marcus McDermott ballooned Babson’s lead to 34-26 before Wheaton’s defense ramped up its pressure and helped the offense come within three-points of the Beavers, as freshman Eddie Capstick connected from beyond the arc at 13:30, which made the score, 41-38.

Babson’s offense then exploded with a triple and two layups from sophomore Connor Boyen before Wheaton senior Anthony Weeks, (12 points) responded with two critical free throws that started a rally for the Lyons.

Degnan added a pair at the free throw line before Desravines and sophomore Will Bayliss made a few layups, which was followed by an enormous three-pointer from Weeks, as well as few free throws, too.

“We know Babson is a tremendous defensive team, and it was going to be a struggle to score against them, but our guys kept fighting and fighting,” said Walmsley, who was proud of his team’s second half play.

McDermott halted the Lyons comeback with a three-pointer, which was followed up with two made free throws by Mack to make it 60-53.

Babson’s lead was soon erased by a trifecta and two free throws from Degnan, which brought Wheaton within two-points. Yet, Weeks fouled Rudolph on the ensuing possession to stop the clock, but that didn’t stop Rudolph from making two free throws that secured the win for the Green and White.

“It got a little close for my liking, but it was a good team effort, [and] we had a lot of guys step up off the bench,” said Brennan.

The Beavers will look to keep their March Madness hopes alive when they travel to Cambridge on Saturday to face the top-ranked MIT Engineers at 1:00pm.

“MIT’s obviously a great team, but we thought we really had them in our last game at MIT, and we’re excited to get another shot at them,” said Rudolph

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Recap: Babson College 96, Coast Guard 81 (Men’s Basketball)

By Rory Duyon 

BABSON PARK, MA – Since starting the season 7-0, wins and points have been tough to come by for the Babson Beavers men’s basketball team, who exploded for a 96-81 win over Coast Guard on Wednesday, which was their highest output in a 40 minute game since December 29, 2009, when they tallied 98 points against Becker College.

Junior Marcus McDermott led all scorers with a season high 21 points, while junior Alex Rudolph scored 18 points, which is the most he’s scored all season.

Babson’s sophomore Matt Palazini was the catalyst in the opening minutes with a trio of threes in a 45-second span to open a 22-8 first half lead. He finished the game with 14 points, while senior Matt Florio registered 14 points, five rebounds, five assists, as well as a pair of steals, and no turnovers.

“He’s a tough kid,” said Babson College head coach Stephen Brennan. “He’s often under appreciated, but [Florio] is as important as anybody on this team”

Babson led by double digits for most of the game, but Coast Guard made a 16-4 second half run, which included a fade away by freshman David Anderson to cut the Babson lead to 64-58 with 11 minutes to play.

The Beavers shot a season high 58.3% (35/60) en route to a 96-point effort that trumped their second highest total of the season by 19 points.

The Bears got 20 points off the bench from sophomore Kevin Sowers, who returned to the lineup after sitting for two games with a back injury.

The Beavers improve to 2-3 in NEWMAC play and Coast Guard drops to 0-5. Babson visits Wheaton on Saturday as they try to get back to [.500]. The Bears will return to the court on Wednesday, Jan. 25, when they host Wheaton College for a 7:30pm tip-off.

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Amherst College Fends Off Babson College, 61-50

By Rory Duyon 

BABSON PARK, MA — Moral victories don’t count in the standings, as Babson head coach Stephen Brennan said after a 61-50 loss to Amherst College on Thursday, but there’s something to be said for hanging with the No. 2 squad in the country, despite shooting only 25% from the field for most of the game.

A late second half Amherst run put this game out of reach, but with 13 minutes to play, it was a one possession game, as the Beavers held the Lord Jeffs of Amherst to 30.6 points under their season average.

“We’ve got to make more shots. We had lay ups we missed, we missed a lot of threes, we’ve got to make plays,” said Brennan. “We’re right there, we’re a very good defensive team, they’re the number two team in the country, but there’s no moral victory.”

The Amherst trio of Willy Workman, Aaron Toomey and Taylor Barrise was held to 21 total points, less than half of their combined average, while David Waller, Jeff Holmes and Peter Kaasila scored 29 points.

“Jeff [Holmes] really stepped up with the offensive rebounds,” said Amherst head coach David Hixon. “He made some good plays. Pete [Kaasila] played big, he’s coming off a sprained ankle, but [David Kalema] made some great plays with his quickness too.”

Babson trailed 4-0 after seven-and-a-half minutes until Matt Florio put his team on the board with a layup, (he led all scorers with 15 points). Amherst made five of their first 26 shots before hitting four of their last five in the first half to take a 24-20 lead at the break.

Amherst opened a double-digit lead in the second half, but a 10-2 run got Babson to within three points. At that point, Amherst overpowered Babson with a 21-7 run of their own, as Kalema scored nine points in that particular stretch to help put the game out of reach.

Russell Braithwaite and Marcus McDermott struggled from the field all night. They combined for just 13 points, including three baskets by Brathwaite in the final two minutes.

Babson protected the ball quite well by recording just 13 turnovers in a span of 40 minutes, but they only connected on 19-of-61 shots.

The Beavers [7-3] head into a three-week layoff with three losses in a row. They will return to the hardwood on December 30 in California when they visit Claremont McKenna.

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Massachusetts College Basketball — Tremendous Thursday Picks
Can Willy Workman work his way past the Babson College defense on Thursday? (Photo Credit: Amherst College Athletics)

By Matt Noonan

There are two marque matchups to watch this evening across the state of Massachusetts in regards to Division III hoops, and while many will be glued to Harvard-UConn, here’s a two other games to follow too.

Amherst College at Babson College – The Beavers lost their November momentum this past weekend against Tufts University and Brandeis, but seemed determined to end their two-game losing streak against Amherst College. However, the Lord Jeffs haven’t lost a game all season, and are described as one of the most explosive offensive units in Division III. Babson’s junior guard Marcus McDermott talked about getting “his game” back on track Wednesday, and certainly, the Beavers will need their leading scorer to match the efforts of junior Willy Workman and sophomore Aaron Toomey for Amherst.

Prediction – The Lord Jeffs have scored 81 points or more this season through seven games, so if the Beavers are going to be successful, they’re going to have to force Amherst College to play their game. Amherst College 91 – Babson College 70

Salem State University at MIT – The Engineers are on a roll, and there’s a reason why they’ve won nine games this season, and it’s because of their focus and dedication. If MIT’s junior guard Mitchell Kates is “on,” then expect the Engineers to roll to victory, but don’t expect the Vikings to lie down. Salem State’s most recent contest resulted in a loss against Tufts, yet don’t expect them to dwell on it, especially if junior guard Justin Nieves scores early and often.

Prediction – Not to show any NEWMAC, (New England Men’s and Women’s Athletic Conference) bias, but I think the Engineers might have just that one extra player who’ll help them secure the victory. MIT 78 – Salem State 70

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Catching Up With The Babson College Beavers Men’s Basketball Team

By NoontimeSports.com 

BABSON PARK, MA — On Wednesday, Noontime Sports’s Matt Noonan had the chance to catch up with Babson College’s men’s basketball head coach Stephen Brennan, as well as juniors Marcus McDermott and Russell Braithwaite to talk about their season thus far, and their upcoming contest against Amherst College on Thursday.

Head Coach Stephen Brennan:  

 

Marcus McDermott and Russell Braithwaite: