NEW HAVEN, Conn. - Jayquan Kirkland (Stratford, Conn.) tied a career-high with 26 points, but the Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team fell 82-78 to Babson College on Tuesday evening at The Nest in a non-conference game.

Kirkland went 6-for-8 from three and 8-for-13 from the field overall. Ta'zhon Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) scored 19 points with six assists and Isaiah Earl (Hamden, Conn.) added 11 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Avery Hinnant (Naugatuck, Conn.) had five points with five rebounds and a team-high three blocks.

THE BASICS

FINAL: Babson 82 | Albertus 78

RECORDS: Albertus (0-2) | Babson (2-0)

BOX

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Babson jumped out to a 10-4 lead less than four minutes into the game after three threes from the Beavers early on. Back-to-back threes from Kirkland and Ray Ford, Jr. (Jersey City, N.J.) cut the deficit down to one point.
• The Beavers led by as much as 12 points in the first half at 37-25. However, two straight threes from Kirkland, a jumper from Daniels and a three from DJ Hamilton (Bronx, N.Y.) were part of an 11-2 run that cut the Basbon lead to 39-36 with 4:12 left in the first half.
• Albertus trailed 45-41 at the end of the first half as Daniels led all scorers with 15 points in the first 20 minutes. Kirkland scored 11, including all three of his three-point attempts in the first half.
• With 16:15 left in the second half, Babson opened up a 57-44 lead after a layup from Tyler Lauder. Over the next five minutes, two threes from Kirkland, and baskets by Daniels, Hamilton and DJ Victory (New York, N.Y.) trimmed the gap to 62-58.
• Later on in the half, a three from Earl and a steal and layup from Daniels got Albertus within one point at 64-63 with 8:58 remaining. Babson once again extended its lead to six points at 75-69, but five straight from the Falcons - four of which came from Kirkland - once again cut the deficit to one point. However, Babson hit seven of its final eight free throws down the stretch to hold off the Falcons.

TEAM STATS

Albertus

44.4 FG% | 55.6 3PT% | 63.2 FT%

Babson

47.5 FG% | 40.0 3PT% | 80.0 FT%

TOP PERFORMERS

Albertus

Jayquan Kirkland 26 | PTS | 8-13 FG | 6-8 3PT

Ta'zhon Daniels 19 PTS | 3 REBS | 6 ASTS

Isaiah Earl 11 PTS | 7 REBS | 3 STLS

Babson

Marc Begin II 14 Points | 6 REBS | 2 ASTS

Thomas Ferdinando 12 PTS | 4-7 3PT 

Robby Fiore 13 PTS | 5-7 FG | 5 REBS

NOTEWORTHY

The Falcons forced 14 turnovers on the day.

Hamilton finished with eight points off the bench.

UP NEXT

The Falcons will face Clark University at 7:30 p.m. on Friday as part of the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Classic hosted by Westfield State.