Men’s Basketball Drops 72-64 Decision at Babson in 2021 Opener

BABSON PARK, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team returned to the court for the first time in 379 days and absorbed a 72-64 setback at Babson Saturday afternoon.

The Lions slip to 0-1 to start the season while the Beavers improve to 7-2 overall with the outcome.

David Lopez (Miami, Fla.) poured in 12 points and hauled in a team-high seven rebounds to go with three assists. Ka'Shaun Swan (Lawrenceville, Ga.) netted 11 points and grabbed four boards in his collegiate debut. Ozzy Traill III (Valley Stream, N.Y.) tallied nine points, collected four rebounds, and dished out three assists. Corey McGhee (Alexandria, Va.) finished with eight points and five boards while Josef Buford (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) added seven points off the bench.

The visitors clung to a narrow two-point lead at the halftime intermission, 36-34.

Eastern Nazarene shot 50% from the floor while draining 1-of-8 from behind the arc in the opening half. Babson posted a field-goal percentage of 39.3% in the first stanza to go with 7-for-17 shooting from three-point range.

The Beavers outscored the Lions 38-28 in the second half to secure their second-consecutive win.

Eastern Nazarene finished the game with a field-goal percentage of 43.8% while connecting on 4-of-19 from downtown. Babson shot 40.4% from the floor on the day and 36.4% from long distance.

Andrew Jaworski paced the home side with 19 points while Colin Bradanese registered a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene and Babson will conclude the weekend series March 14 at the Lahue Athletic Center.