Box Score WELLESLEY, Mass. –

It is the age old adage in sports: "It is hard to beat a team three times in a season". You'll hear it all around the country across all three divisions in this conference tournament season. Coast Guard today proved there is truth in third time's the charm, defeating Babson 80-69. The win also avenges the 76-87 NEWMAC Quarterfinal loss the Bears suffered at the hands of Babson last season.

The game started slow for both squads with neither team scoring a point in the first two minutes and combining for five turnovers. Babson finally broke the scoreless streak, scoring the first four points in the affair before Luke Farrell(Ortley Beach, NJ) sunk both of his free throws for the Bears first points of the night. Colin Huang(Irvine, CA) buried two free throws of his own the next possession to tie the score at 4-4 before Elijah Parent(Bristol, CT) gave the Bears their first lead of the day just prior to the first media timeout. The teams would continue to trade baskets into the next media, with Coast Guard leading 14-13 with 11:21 to go in the half.

Early in the first half, the Bears spark came from sharpshooter Trevor Parks(Oldsmar, FL) who came off the bench and went three for his first three from beyond the arc. His first three tied the score at 11-11 while his next two came to give some semblance of breathing room just after the Beavers cut the CGA lead to one possession. Parks would finish the half 4-5 from three.

CGA wound up leading 39-37 going into halftime. In the first, every time the Beavers landed a punch, the Bears seemed to have an answer immediately, including in the final minute when Babson's Nate Amato(Hanson, MA) brought the crowd alive with a dunk and Luke Farrell answered on the other end with a key offensive rebound before being fouled and making a free throw to bring the CGA lead to two. Farrell then got a defensive rebound at the buzzer to prohibit a potential game tying put back for Babson.

At the start of the second half, Babson tied the score at 39-39 almost immediately but Coast Guard snatched the lead right back with two Colin Huang made free throws. On the next possession, Huang would again play a key role with an assist to a Ben Yagey(Highlands Ranch, CO) three pointer. Huang would assist on the Bears next three as well, this time from Declan Rooney(Seattle, WA) to extend the lead to 49-42. Five minutes into the second half, the Bears were an outstanding 58.3%(7-12) from three. Going into the first media timeout of the second, Luke Farrell made a contested layup to put the Bears up 55-48, out of the timeout he would convert the three point play to make the score 56-48 with just under 14 remaining. 

Around the 12 minute mark, Babson gained all of the momentum. CGA missed four shots in a row and the man who has been a nightmare for the Bears this year, Ryan Frauenheim(Manasquan, NJ) scored six unanswered points and drew an offensive foul to cut the Babson deficit to just two. The freshman Frauenheim has four career double digit scoring games, three of which have come against Coast Guard including a career high 17 tonight. The Beavers would take their first lead since early in the first half at the 9:45 mark. Coast Guard, however, was able to stop the bleeding and avoid a Beaver runaway with scores on back to back to back possessions: Parks layup, Parent made three, Parent made three. 

With five minutes remaining in the intense NEWMAC Quarterfinal battle, Coast Guard led 68-63. After four consecutive possessions resulting in turnovers for the Bears and a flagrant foul, Babson took advantage and cut the CGA lead to just one. Leading 68-67 with two minutes remaining, Cameron Brown(Ellicott City, MD) took the Babson crowd jeers in stride and knocked down two clutch free throws to bring the score to 70-67. On the other end, Nate Amato hit two of his own, leaving Coast Guard with a one point lead under 1:45 remaining. On the fourth consecutive possession between the teams resulting in two free throws, Luke Farrell this time buried his two to give the Bears a 72-69 lead and the ball after a Babson flagrant foul call. They would extend that lead to five at the 1:13 mark with a clutch, crowd quieting made two by Elijah Parent at the end of the shot clock. After getting a rebound and getting fouled hard on the other end, Colin Huang made one of his free throws to extend the lead to six. Huang, who some refer to as "the gnat" because of his relentless defense would again find himself on the line after a steal. 

The Bears would seal the game, making five of their last six free throws to ultimately win by a score of 80 to 69.

Coast Guard will move onto the NEWMAC Tournament semifinals at #2 Clark University on Thursday February 27th at 7:00 PM.