WORCESTER, Mass.—Sophomore Nate Amado (Hanson, Mass.) scored 13 of his 19 points to help visiting Babson College rally to defeat Clark University, 66-62, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside the Kneller Athletic Center.

With its seventh win in the last eight games, Babson improves to 15-8 overall and 8-4 in league play. Clark has dropped two straight games to slip to 13-10 overall and 5-7 in the NEWMAC.

Senior Andrew Kirkpatrick (Winnetka, Ill.) finished with 18 points and graduate student Ryan Cibull (Alameda, Calif.) added 14 points to lead the Beavers.

Sophomore Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) led all players with 28 points on 14-of-16 shooting to go along with a game-high 15 rebounds for the Cougars. Junior Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) contributed 14 points and four assists, while classmate Mikey O'Brien (New York, N.Y.) chipped in with 10 points in the loss.

The Green and White erased an early seven-point deficit thanks to a 7-0 spurt that included back-to-back jumpers by Kirkpatrick and took its first lead of the afternoon a triple by sophomore Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) at 16-15 with 9:26 to go in the opening half. O'Brien and McArdle combined for the first 10 points and Saintulus followed with two free throws and a bucket inside to cap a 14-5 run that helped Clark take its biggest advantage of the afternoon at 34-23 just 1:54 before halftime.

The Beavers cut their deficit to six at the break and Amado opened the second half with nine consecutive points to pull within 42-39 on a three-pointer at the 15:52 mark. Amado tied the game with a steal and a dunk almost three minutes later and Horan drilled another triple on the following trip to but Babson in front 47-44 with 12:36 remaining.

A jumper by senior Aaron Gao (Bridgewater, N.J.) gave the Green and White its largest margin of the game a minute later before the Cougars answered back with a 7-0 run to go back in front 51-49 at the midway point of the second half. Neither team made a field goal for more than four minutes until Amado broke the drought with a layup to give Babson a 57-56 edge with 4:49 to go.

Clark got consecutive hoops from McArdle to grab a 60-59 advantage with 3:41 remaining but Cibull canned a three-pointer on the ensuing possession to put Babson ahead for good with 3:12 left. The Cougars came up empty on its next three trips and Kirkpatrick pushed the lead to four with a jumper with 26 seconds to go.

The Beavers shot 43.1 percent for the game and knocked down eight three-pointers while turning 15 Clark turnovers into 16 points. The Cougars shot 48.1 percent on the day and finished with a 36-30 edge on the glass while outscoring the Green and White 44-22 in the paint.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday as Babson hosts Coast Guard at 5:30 p.m. while Clark travels to Springfield at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES
• The Beavers are 40-39 all-time against Clark and have won 16 of the last 17 games in the series.
• Each of the last four games between Babson and the Cougars in Worcester have been decided by four points or less.
• The Beavers are 10-3 in NEWMAC road games over the last two seasons.
• The Green and White has held 10 of its last 11 opponents to 64 points or fewer.