Babson dominated play throughout most of the first half, as the Beavers shot 19-for-41 (.463) from the field, including an 8-of-16 clip from three-point range, while committing just one turnover. Clark took its only two leads of the contest in the opening three minutes, with the final advantage coming on a lay-up by sophomore Tim Dutille (Lebanon, N.H.) that put the Cougars in front, 5-4. Babson then responded with a 20-5 run over the next six minutes, and eventually took its largest lead of the game at 48-26 with 2:19 remaining. Juniors CJ Enere (Hyde Park, Mass.) and Phil Riffe (Newton, Mass.) combined for 27 points in the first half, connecting on 5-of-10 from long range.
Clark was finally able to gain some momentum late in the first half, as the Cougars scored the final six points of the period to head into the locker room trailing, 49-34. Dutille then recorded four quick points in the second half to cut his team’s deficit to 11 at 49-38 with 18:08 left, but that would be the final bucket for either team for the next six minutes. Babson missed its next seven field goal attempts, while the Cougars came up empty on eight shot attempts.
The Cougars finally snapped the offensive drought with 12:06 remaining, as senior James Collins (Worcester, Mass.) recorded an offensive rebound and put back to pull the visitors to within nine. Enere then sank Babson’s first field goal of the half with 11:52 on the clock, pushing the Beavers’ lead back to double-digits at 51-40.
After the two teams traded baskets, Clark senior Dave McNamara (Worcester, Mass.) drew a foul on a three-point attempt and knocked down all three resulting free throws, pulling his team to within eight at 53-45. The Cougars later got to within four, 57-53, with just over five minutes left, as senior Mark Stukowski (Rutland, Mass.) and junior Brent Kenneway (Sturbridge, Mass.) combined to sink four consecutive free throws.
Babson still led, 59-55, when senior co-captain Luke Weber (Highland Mills, N.Y.) hit two free throws to give the Beavers a six-point advantage with 3:28 left. McNamara then came off a screen and drained his first three-pointer of the contest with 2:58 to go, cutting Clark’s deficit to just three at 61-58. However, that would be as close as the Cougars would get the rest of the way, as Babson finished the game with a 7-2 run. Enere increased his team’s lead to six with a three-pointer with 2:30 remaining, and, following a free throw by McNamara, junior Brooks Brown (Cleveland, Ohio) grabbed an offensive rebound off a missed foul shot and put it back for a seven-point Babson lead.
Dutille answered with one of two freebies at the other end to get Clark back to within six at 66-60, but Weber made the defensive play of the game when he drew a charge on McNamara’s drive with 42 seconds to play. The Cougars would later miss a trio of three-point attempts during a frantic 16-second span before Weber hit a breakaway lay-up to seal the 68-60 victory.
Enere finished with 20 points and five assists for Babson, while Weber added 15 points in his final regular season home game. Elliman pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, including six off the offensive glass, while Riffe chipped in with 14 points off the bench.
Dutille paced Clark with a double-double, as he scored 17 points and collected 10 boards. Collins finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, while senior Trevor Walker (Milford, Mass.) added 11 points and five caroms.