WORCESTER, Mass.—Senior Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) posted a double-double with 18 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, and Clark built a 17-point second half lead before holding off visiting Babson College, 71-70, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night.

The victory helped Clark (10-8, 1-6 NEWMAC) snap a six-game losing streak, while Babson, which had won three straight games, dropped to 13-5 overall and 4-3 in conference play.

First-year David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) added 12 points and senior Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.), the league's second leading scorer, chipped in with 10 despite going just 3-of-10 from the floor. 

Junior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) and first-year Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) each scored 23 points to lead the Beavers .Wickey also grabbed a team-high nine boards while Flannery chipped in with seven rebounds and a career-high five steals.

Clark trailed only once in the early moments of the game and shot 46.7 percent (14-for-30) before halftime to build a 46-32 lead at the break. Musler had 12 first-half points, and the Cougars went 13-for-19 from the free throw line in the opening 20 minutes. The Beavers, which shot just 39.3 percent (11-for-28) in the opening stanza, missed 10 of their 12 first-half three-point attempts.

Babson got within 58-48 with 10:31 to go in the second half on a triple by Wickey, but the Cougars responded with a quick 7-0 run, capped by a Musler three, to take their biggest lead of the game at 65-48 with 8:51 left in the game.

The Green and White battled back though, as Flannery followed a pair of free throws by junior David Mack (Holden, Mass.) with six straight points to make it 65-56 at the 6:06 mark. Senior Matt Palazini (Franklin, Mass.) and Wickey then sandwiched three-pointers around another hoop from Flannery to pull Babson within one at 65-64 with 3:53 to go.

After the Beavers missed on a trio of scoring chances down one, the Cougars used back-to-back three-pointers from Musler and senior Jake Gubitose (Fiskdale, Mass.) to push their lead back to seven with just 1:37 left. A Wickey trifecta and three free throws, one from Palazini and two from senior Kenny Ross (Furlong, Pa.), got Babson within 71-70 with 17 seconds remaining.

Ross then collected a steal with 11 seconds to go as Clark was unable to break the Green and White's full-court pressure. Flannery got the ball at the top of the key and drove towards the rim but lost the ball. It deflected off a Cougar, giving the Beavers possession with 4.5 seconds to go.
 
An inbounds pass came to Flannery and his strong drive to the right resulted in an angled shot that banked off the glass hit the rim and spun out as time expired, securing Clark's first conference victory.

The Cougars finished the night shooting 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from the floor while holding a 37-36 advantage on the glass. The Green and White shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53), but were just 7-of-24 from three-point range.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson travels to Emerson in a 3 p.m. start while Clark hosts MIT at 1 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 24-38 all-time against Clark and has dropped four of its last five meetings to the Cougars…The Beavers 14-point halftime deficit was their largest of the season and they are now 1-5 when trailing at the break this year…Flannery has now scored 20 or more points nine times on the season and in three of the last four games…Ross, the Division III leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, has now dished out four or more assists in 23 straight games.