NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) had a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team to a 75-72 win in its season opener over Babson on Saturday afternoon in a non-conference matchup at The Nest on the campus of Albertus Magnus.

The defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) champions had four players in double-figures. Antonio Bonilla (Tenafly, N.J.) finished with 14 points, while Tazhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored 11 and Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.), 10.

THE BASICS
FINAL: Albertus Magnus 75 | Babson 72
RECORDS: Albertus Magnus (1-0) | Babson (1-1)
BOXSCORE

 HOW IT HAPPENED

• Albertus opened up the game with a steal and a layup from Washington to take an early 2-0 lead but was answered on the next possession by Nate Amado of Babson, who hit a three to give the Beavers their first lead of the game.
• The teams were unable to separate themselves for over the first eight minutes of the game as the team's remained in a one-possession game until the 11:46 mark when Babson took an 18-14 lead. The Falcons had six different scorers over their first 14 points.
• After a jumper from Steph Baxter gave Babson its biggest lead of the half at 20-14, the Falcons went on a 10-2 run to take a 24-22 lead at the 7:56 mark as Bonilla scored the final five points on the run on a layup and one of his two three-pointers on the day.
• The teams swapped leads again at the 5:18 mark after a three from Timmy O'Toole to give Babson a one-point lead, followed by a jumper from Aidan Horan to put the Beavers up 31-28. After Horan's basket, he was called for a technical foul. Bonilla would hit both free throws and then a jumper on the following possession to put the Falcons up 32-31.
• Albertus took a 37-34 lead at the half as Bonilla would hit one more three as he scored all 14 of his points in the first 20 minutes. Amado scored 11 to pace Babson in the first half.
• Amado scored five of the first seven points for the Beavers to start the second half, staking them to a 41-39 lead early on.
• The momentum would shift on the next possession as Washington started to take over. After he made a layup to tie the game, Washington stole the ball on the ensuing possession for a fastbreak dunk. Again Babson would turn it over, this time to Daniels whose layup made it a 45-41 game. After a miss from Babson, Washington hit another jumper to put the Falcons up six, forcing Babson to call a timeout at the 16:22 mark.
• A dunk from Amado closed the Falcons' lead to 51-49, but Albertus responded with the next seven points, including two layups from Washington and a steal and layup from Jeyson Slade (Stamford, Conn.) to give the Falcons their biggest lead of the game at 58-49.
• Babson wouldn't go away as the Beavers got to within three after an other three-pointer from Amado, but back-to-back baskets from Xavier Edwards (Jersey City, N.J.) and Crawford put the Falcons back up 68-61.
• The Falcons would not give up the lead the rest of the way, but Babson made it interesting. With the Falcons up four after two free-throws from Daniels, Amado hit a three with nine seconds left to make it a 73-72 game. Daniels would hit two more free throws to put Albertus back up 75-72 and Babson's David Cross could not hit a three-point at the buzzer, preserving the win for the Falcons. 

TEAM STATS
Albertus: 45.6 FG% | 25.0 3PT% | 60.0 FT% 
Babson: 39.7 FG% | 31.4 3PT% | 77.8 FT%

INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS
Albertus
Justice Washington 16 Points | 8-9 FG | 14 Rebounds
Antonio Bonilla 14 Points | 3 Rebounds | 3 Assists | 4 Steals
Tazhon Daniels 11 Points | 5-6 FT | 3 Steals | 2 Rebounds
Kevin Crawford 10 Points | 2 Steals

Babson
Nate Amado 32 Points | 6-10 3PT | 5 Rebounds | 3 Assists
Timmy O'Toole 10 Points | 8 Rebounds | 2 Assists | 2 Steals

NOTEWORTHY

• It was the third meeting between the teams. Albertus now holds the all-time lead, 2-1. The two teams last met in 2017.
• For Washington, it was his 22nd double-double in his career.
• Bonilla has hit at least one three in his last six games and nine of his last ten.
• There were seven ties and 14 lead changes in the game.  

UP NEXT
The Falcons host the University of Hartford on Tuesday, November 14 at 7 p.m. in The Nest on the campus of Albertus Magnus.