Dutille Leads Clark with 16 points and eight rebounds
In a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest between conference rivals, the Clark University men’s basketball team defeated Babson College 69-61. The Cougars, who snapped a two-game conference losing streak, improved to 4-8 overall and 1-2 in the conference. Trailing by seven points at halftime the Beavers opened the second half with a 7-0 run to tie the game at 40-40 with 17:25 remaining in the game. Sophomore Asher Cowan (Petersborough, MA/Cushing Academy) made a three-pointer with 14:33 to give the Cougars a 47-45 lead and start a 10-2 run that gave Clark a 7-point lead with less than nine minutes to go. Babson answered with a 9-2 run and tied the game at 56-56 with 5:32 remaining on sophomore’s Brandon Eigenberg (Franklin, MA/Franklin) layup. Sophomore Cory Szklarz (Worcester, MA/St. Peter Marian) drilled his second three-pointer of the game with 4:36 left and gave the Cougars the lead for good at 61-58. Clark converted on 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch and forced two turnovers in the final four minutes to secure their first NEWMAC win of the season. Junior Tim Dutille (Sunapee, NH/Lebanon) and Szklarz paced the Cougars with a game-high 16 points each. Dutille, who was 6-for-7 from the floor and 4-for-6 from the line, had eight rebounds. Szklarz was 2-for-3 from long range and 2-for-2 from the line and added four assists and two steals. Babson’s senior Phil Riffe (Newton, MA/Newton North) led four players in double figures with 13 points, he had three three-pointers. Classmate CJ Enere (Hyde Park, MA/Lexington) chipped in 12 points, four assists and four steals while Eigenberg chipped in 12 points (5-6 FG, 2-2 FT). Clark’s Adam Miller (Shrewsbury, MA/St, John’s) was again a monster around the basket with a game-high 12 rebounds and first-year DJ Brinn (Madison, CT/Daniel Hand) had a solid game with eight points (2-3 3FG) including a key jumper in the lane with 58 seconds left that gave the Cougars a 63-58 advantage. He added three assists. Cowan had another solid net behind the arc chipping in 12 points on 4-of-7 from long range. Babson fell to 4-7 overall and 0-1 in the NEWMAC. Clark will host non-conference opponent Trinity College on Thursday, January 13. Game time is set for 7:00 pm at the Kneller Athletic Center.