WORCESTER, Mass.—Graduate student Steph Baxter (Worcester, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points and visiting Babson College built a 16-point second-half lead on the way to defeating Clark University, 71-68, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon inside the Kneller Center. 

Babson, which snapped a two-game skid, improves to 9-11 overall and 5-6 in conference play. Clark has now dropped two of its last three games to slip to 15-5 overall and 9-2 in the NEWMAC. 

Baxter added five assists and four rebounds, while sophomore Jeremiah Paul (Los Angeles, Calif.) scored a career-high 14 points to go along with five rebounds to lead the Beavers. Junior Aidan Horan (Orchard Park, N.Y.) added 13 points and sophomore Timmy O'Toole (Milton, Mass.) led all players with 12 boards in the win. 

Junior Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) and classmate Isaiah Taylor (Methuen, Mass.) both scored 15 to lead five players in double figures for the Cougars. Sophomore Reid Neumann (Burbank, Calif.) finished with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, junior Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and senior Mikey O'Brien (New York, N.Y.) added 10 points and six boards in the loss. 

The opening half featured six ties and 10 lead changes with Babson taking the largest lead of the period at 26-19 at the 6:59 mark following a quick 8-0 spurt. The hosts responded by outscoring the Beavers 13-5 over the final six-plus minutes to take a 32-31 lead into the locker room after a pair of late free throws by McArdle. 

The Green and White opened the second half by scoring on nine of its first 11 possessions, getting eight points from Baxter and five from Paul to open a 52-41 lead with 13:36 to play. The Cougars got back within six just over a minute later on a layup by O'Brien, but the Beavers responded with a 10-0 run to take their largest advantage of the game at 62-46 on a layup by sophomore Tyler Lauder (Malvern, Pa.) with 8:51 remaining. 

Down 13 with just over six minutes to play, Clark went on a 9-0 run to cut its deficit to 66-62 on a triple from the right corner by Neumann with 3:13 left. Babson answered back though, as Horan and Baxter converted layups on each of the next two possessions to stretch the margin back to 70-62 with 1:22 to play. Taylor scored the Cougars' final six points and the Beavers missed nine consecutive free throws setting up a frenetic finish. 

Lauder made the second of two free throws with 4.2 seconds left to make it a three-point game and the Green and White survived Neumann's desperation three-pointer from the left corner at the buzzer to collect its first conference road victory. 

The Beavers shot 43.9 percent from the floor, finished with a 39-35 edge on the glass and turned 14 Clark turnovers into 22 points. The Cougars shot 44.4 percent in the loss. 

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

GAME NOTES
•    The Beavers are 41-40 all-time against Clark and have 17 of the last 19 games between the teams. 
•    Five of the last six games between the squads played in Worcester have been decided by four points or less. 
•    Babson is now 2-4 on the year in games decided by five points or less. 
•    The Beavers are 8-2 on the year when outrebounding their opponents and 8-3 when shooting at least 40 percent.