MBB: Babson Edges Saint Joseph’s in NCAA First Round, 71-67

Release Courtesy of Saint Joseph's (Maine) Athletic Communications

HARTFORD, Conn. – The Saint Joseph's College men's basketball team saw its 2025-26 season come to a close on Friday afternoon, as Babson College edged the Monks, 71-67, in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship at Ray Oosting Gymnasium on the campus of Trinity College.

Saint Joseph's finishes the year with a 20-9 record after capturing the GNAC Championship and returning to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, while Babson improves to 22-6 and advances to the second round.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The teams played through a tightly-contested first half that featured 10 lead changes and six ties. Saint Joseph's fell behind by as many as six points midway through the opening stanza but answered with a 6-0 run and later grabbed its largest lead of the day, 23-20, when John Paul Frazierconverted a three-point play with 6:32 left in the half. Babson responded late and carried a slim 32-30 edge into the break after a Ryan Frauenheim three-pointer in the final seconds.

Babson opened the second half with a push and built its largest lead of the afternoon, 57-48, with 9:19 to play. The Monks refused to go away. Powered by Wani Donato(Portland, Maine) inside, Saint Joseph's chipped away and eventually moved in front, 67-66, when Davis Mann(Falmouth, Mass.) drove for a layup with 1:46 remaining.

The Beavers answered on the ensuing possession, as Timmy Mulvey buried a go-ahead three-pointer with 1:18 left to put Babson back on top, 69-67. Saint Joseph's had chances in the closing seconds, but Babson forced a late turnover and sealed the result with two Mulvey free throws with two seconds left.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Saint Joseph's shot 48.3% (28-58) from the floor and owned advantages in points in the paint (40-34), second-chance points (13-8), and fast-break points (10-8), but Babson made the difference at the foul line and on the bench. The Beavers went 10-for-13 at the stripe, compared to 5-of-6 for the Monks, and held a 10-0 lead in bench points.

Babson committed just four turnovers while Saint Joseph's turned the ball over 16 times in the loss.

Turnovers also proved costly. Saint Joseph's committed 16 miscues, compared to just four by Babson, and several of those came in critical late-game spots.

LEADERS:

Saint Joseph's:

• Wani Donato: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
• John Paul Frazier (Sr., York, Maine): 14 points, 6 rebounds
• Remijo Wani Jr., (Portland, Maine): 13 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists
• Tong Maiwen (Sr., Juba, South Sudan): 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 blocks
• Davis Mann: 10 points, 4 rebounds

Babson:

• Timmy O'Toole: 18 points, 9 rebounds
• Timmy Mulvey: 17 points
• Thomas Ferdinando: 13 points, 6 assists
• Ryan Frauenheim: 10 points
• Tyler Lauder: 8 rebounds

ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 14 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 20 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.

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