BOX SCORE

BABSON PARK, Mass. – Junior Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) led four Clark University players in double figures with 16 points and 10 rebounds as the visiting Cougars defeated host Babson College, 76-62, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball contest at Staake Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

With the win, Clark remained in the hunt for a spot in next week's conference tournament at 10-14 overall and 4-7 in the NEWMAC. The Cougars can clinch a playoff berth with a win over first-place WPI in a huge matchup of cross-town rivals on Saturday. Meanwhile, Babson (10-13 overall, 5-7 NEWMAC) is now finished with its conference schedule and will await this weekend's competition to find out the identity and location of its first-round opponent. The Beavers close out their regular season with a non-conference game at Framingham State on Saturday.

Vayda hit 7-of-12 from the field for his 16 points, while first-year Jake Gubitose (Fiskdale, Mass.) also added 16 while knocking down 5-of-7 from three-point range. Junior D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points, seven rebounds, and two blocked shots for the Cougars, and junior Travis Curley (Trumbull, Conn.) tossed in 10 points. Freshman Jeff Tagger (Brockton, Mass.) was the game's assist leader with five.

Sophomores Russell Braithwaite (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Alex Rudolph (Bal Harbour, Fla.) each finished with 10 points to pace Babson, while junior captain Matt Florio (Skillman, N.J.) joined Rudolph with a team-high five rebounds. Florio also dished out four assists in the loss.

Already leading by six with 12 minutes left in the first half, Clark exploded for a 13-0 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes to build a commanding 27-8 advantage. Vayda converted a conventional three-point play to ignite the run, while Gubitose and Curley each added trifectas. Babson would eventually cut its deficit to 13 on two occasions later in the half, but the Cougars still held a comfortable 39-24 lead heading into the break.

After Clark pushed its lead all the way to 20 at 69-49 with 5:47 remaining, the Beavers made one final push by scoring eight unanswered points over the next four minutes. Junior Kris Noonan (Boothbay Harbor, Maine) netted four of his eight points during the spurt as Babson pulled to within 12, 69-57, with 1:47 to play.

With the Beavers forced to foul the rest of the way, Clark put the contest out of reach with two free throws from Curley and another from Gubitose. Sophomore Tucker Esborn (Branford, Conn.) later added a conventional three-point play with just over a minute remaining as the Cougars clinched the eventual 76-62 victory.

Prior to the game, there was a brief ceremony in honor of Babson senior captain Matt Zoia (Nashua, N.H.). During his four-year career, the sharp-shooting guard has established himself as one of the Beavers' most indispensable players. Coming into the game, he was avergaing career-highs in points, rebounds, and assists per game while ranking among the top five in the NEWMAC in minutes, three-pointers made, and three-point percentage.