Men's Basketball Tackles Clark For Second Straight NEWMAC Win

BOX SCORE

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Freshman forward Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) had a game-high 16 points to lead Babson College to a 60-49 victory over Clark University in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Babson, which has now won its last two games in conference play, improved to 10-9 overall and 2-5 in the NEWMAC. Edwards, who connected on 8-of-10 shots from the stripe, was joined by classmate Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) in double-figures with 11 points.  Senior Zach Etten (Hollis, N.H.) and sophomore Dana Mauro (Wethersfield, Conn.) led Babson on the glass with six boards apiece.

Clark which recognized seniors Byron Roberts (New Haven, Conn.), Sal DeMarco (Queens, N.Y.) and Peter Normandin (Westminster, Mass.) prior to the game, dropped to 9-10 overall and 3-4 in the NEWMAC. Normandin had 11 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Cougars - his eighth career double-double and second of the year. Alexander finished with 10 points, four assists and three blocks in defeat.

Babson built an early 24-11 lead, but Clark used a 14-4 run over the final 4:17 of the first half to close the gap to three, 28-25. The offensive burst featured back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) and Roberts, and a pop in the lane by junior Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) as time expired.

Behind the shooting of Edwards, who had 12 first-half points, Babson took the 28-25 edge into the break.

The game was tied four times in the second half, with Clark eventually grabbing a 39-35 lead after five straight points from Normandin at the 10:28 mark. After two more ties, a jumper by Alexander gave the Cougars their final lead of the game, 43-41, with 6:33 to play.

The Beavers took the lead for good with a 7-0 run that featured back-to-back hoops by Edwards and Florio and a conventional three-point play by first-year Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) that gave the visitors a 48-43 margin. Clark junior Reed Powell's (Worcester, Mass.) put-back later made it a one-point game (47-48) with 2:57 remaining, but the Cougars got no closer. Babson rattled off 12 of the final 14 points of the game, including six points at the charity stripe, to pull out the victory.

The Beavers shot 83.3 percent (10-for-12) from the line in the second half and 75 percent for the game (18-for-24). Clark only visited the line five times (2-for-5) for a 40 percent clip.

Clark will host WPI on Tuesday (7 p.m.). Babson College will travel to Bowdoin College for a non-conference tilt that same day (7 p.m.). 

NOTE: Taken from a Clark University press release.