BOX SCORE

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Visiting Babson College opened the second half on a 10-2 run to turn a even game at halftime into an eight-point lead en route to a 65-57 win in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center.
 
The Beavers wrap up their conference slate with a 3-9 ledger and a 10-14 overall mark with Saturday's non-league tilt against Framingham State still on their regular season docket.
 
The Cougars, meanwhile slip to 13-11 overall and miss a golden opportunity to improve their postseason positioning following losses by both league-leader MIT and crosstown rival WPI.
 
Both teams shot right around 40 percent from the field, but the Beavers held a 39-33 edge on the glass and turned 14 Clark turnovers into 22 points.
 
Babson also held a sizable advantage at the free throw line where they went 20-of-24, including an 11-for-13 performance in the final 20 minutes. Meanwhile, the Cougars, who entered the contest as the best free throw shooting team in the NEWMAC, struggled from the charity stripe, connecting on just 11-of-20 tries.
 
Marcus McDermott (Milton, Mass.) led a quartet of Beavers in double figures with 14 points and four assists and Marcus Edwards (East Hampton, N.Y.) added 11 points, seven boards and a one-handed dunk in the first half that helped erase an early Clark lead.
 
Both Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) provided ten points for Babson, who will face either MIT or Springfield in the first round of the NEWMAC Tournament next Wednesday.
 
Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) led the Cougars with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) tallied 15 points, seven boards and two assists.
 
Freshman Tucker Esborn (Branford, Conn.) came off the bench and registered a career-high 12 points in just 19 minutes of action.

NOTE: Taken from a Clark University press release.