BABSON PARK, Mass.—Sophomore Joey Flannery (Acton, Mass.) poured in 24 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists as 17th-ranked Babson College defeated visiting Clark University, 80-59, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night at Staake Gymnasium.

With its fourth straight win, Babson is now 16-2 overall and 6-1 in the conference, while Clark slips to 7-11 overall and 2-5 in the NEWMAC.

Flannery went 8-of-13 from the floor and knocked down six of his seven attempts in the second half. Senior John Wickey (Manchester, N.H.) finished with 15 points, five rebounds and three assists, while classmate David Mack (Holden, Mass.) added 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Sophomore Matthew Droney (Canton, Mass.) also provided a spark off the bench, contributing five rebounds and three assists.

Graduate student Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) led the Cougars with 13 points and four boards. First-year John Pisacreta (Andover, Mass.) knocked down a trio of three-pointers and finished with 11 points, all in the final four minutes.

Clark made five of its first six shots, including a pair of jumpers from sophomore Lamar Berk (St. Augustine, Fla.), to take a 10-6 lead just 3:47 into the contest. The Green and White responded though, going on a 17-1 run over the next six and a half minutes to build a 12-point lead.

Sophomore Sam Bohmiller (Franklin, Mass.) followed three straight points by Wickey with a corner trey to go in front 12-10, and back-to-back layups by senior Eric Dean (Gilford, N.H.) and first-year Bradley Jacks (Fort Washington, Md.) pushed the Beavers' edge to six at the 12:49 mark. Berk made 1-of-2 at the line to briefly stop the spurt, but Flannery scored five of the next seven points to give Babson a 23-11 lead with 9:43 to go in the period.

Two straight buckets by sophomore Evan Lerner (Hopedale, Mass.) and three points from classmate David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) helped the Cougars get back within 23-18 with 6:58 to go until halftime. Babson again responded though, ripping off a 16-5 run to take its biggest lead of the stanza at 39-23 with just 1:43 to go. Mercier and sophomore Joseph Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) combined for the final four points to cut the Beavers' margin to 39-27 at the break.

After giving up the first five points of the second half, Babson scored on each of its next five possessions, including 10 points from Flannery to go in front 51-35 with 14:58 remaining in the contest. Back-to-back hoops by Wickey, followed by a layup from Mack, gave the Green and White a 57-35 lead with 12:15 to play.

Musler and graduate student Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) combined for seven consecutive points as Clark got back with 57-42 at the 9:59 mark, but the Green and White followed with an 11-0 burst to put the game away. After back-to-back buckets from Jacks, Flannery drilled a three-pointer, and followed with a pull-up jumper on the next trip to give the Beavers their biggest lead of the game at 68-42 with 5:38 to play.

Babson shot 60 percent (30-of-50) on the night, including a blistering 66.7 percent over the final 20 minutes. The Beavers outscored the Cougars 38-24 in the paint, and held a 36-24 advantage on the glass.

Clark shot just 37.5 percent (21-of-56) from the field, and struggled from deep, finishing just 7-of-23 from beyond the arc.

Both teams return to action on Saturday as Babson hosts Emerson at 3 p.m., while the Cougars visit MIT at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES: Babson is now 26-38 all-time against Clark and have won five of the last seven in the series going back to 2011…at 16-2 the Beavers have their best record this late in the season since the 2002-03 squad opened the year at 21-2…Babson's 6-1 record in the NEWMAC is also its best after seven games since '03-'04…the Beavers are now 15-1 when outrebounding their opponent…Babson is 13-0 this winter, and has won 20 consecutive games when outscoring its foes at the free throw line.