Worcester, MA --- Junior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) finished with 22 points and 20 boards on an 8-for-14 night from the floor as he helped lead Worcester State to an 85-68 triumph over Clark in non-conference victory in the newly renovated Kneller Center.
The Lancers' 17-point victory is their largest in the 23-game series history that dates back to the 1982-83 season. The Cougars (3-2) hold the 7-16 all-time edge.
The Blue and Gold (2-1) were also paced by freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA/Commerce) who totaled 19 points and seven assists, making eight of his 11 field goal attempts.
Junior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MI) was solid off the bench with 11 points and nine caroms and senior Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA) added 11 points.
Graduate student Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, MA) paced the Cougar attack with 23 points and nine rebounds while graduate student DJ Bailey (Palmer, MA) added 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
Senior Marcus Armstrong (Malden, MA) also chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
After first-year Tyler Veretto (South Windsor, CT) made a pair of free throws to give Clark its only lead of the game at 6-5, Worcester State went on a 21-5 run that was highlighted by five points from Lopez and a long three-pointer from freshman Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA).
Worcester State's 25-11 advantage ballooned to its peak at when Jobst dropped in a three-pointer at the 2:17 mark of the first half making the score 41-19.
Down 41-26 at the half, Clark clawed back to get the lead down to 11 points at 47-36 following a graduate student Reed Powell (Worcester, MA) steal and Armstrong finished on the break with 17:01 remaining.
That would be as close as the Cougars would get as Lopez and Keeler knocked down three-pointers and Jobst got loose inside,pushing the lead back to 63-44 with 12:01 left.
Clark made one final push, trimming the lead down to 11 again after a 10-2 run that featured a pair of inside hoops by Vayda and three-pointers from Armstrong and fourth-year John Karas (South Glastonbury, CT).
As they did all night, the Lancers answered with a run of their own and after Keeler found a streaking Lopez for an easy bucket at 3:57, the score stood at 76-58 and the visitors maintained double-digits for the win.
Worcester State – playing for the first time in 12 days – shot 59 percent from the field (35-for-59) and controlled the interior, outscoring Clark 52-28 in the paint and held a decisive 48-30 edge on the glass.
Clark did connect for 42 percent of their shots in the final stanza (15-for-36), but they hit only six of their 26 attempts from downtown. The Cougars held a 20-9 edge in points off of turnovers and canned 80 percent of their shots from the free throw line (16-for-20).
The Lancers host Regis on Saturday at 5 o'clock while Cougars travel to Nichols on Tuesday for a 7:30 matchup.
Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Clark Sports Information
The Lancers' 17-point victory is their largest in the 23-game series history that dates back to the 1982-83 season.
WSU was carried by a pair of monster performances from Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) and Alex Lopez (Springfield, Mass.). Jobst finished with 22 points and a career-best 20 rebounds on 8-for-14 shooting, while Lopez – just a freshman – totaled 19 points and seven assists, making eight of his 11 field goal attempts.
After Tyler Veretto (South Windsor, Conn.) made a pair of free throws to give Clark its only lead of the game at 6-5, Worcester State went on a 21-5 run that was highlighted by five points from Lopez and a long three-pointer from Austin Keeler (Holyoke, Mass.).
The Cougars, meanwhile, struggled to find their offensive footing, connecting on just 25 percent of their first half shots (8-for-32).
WSU's 14 point lead at 25-11 ballooned to its peak at 22 when Jobst dropped in a three-pointer at the 2:17 mark of the first half, making the score 41-19.
Down 41-26 at the half, Clark clawed back to get the lead down to 11 points at 47-36 following a Reed Powell (Worcester, Mass.) steal and Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) finish on the break with 17:01 remaining.
That would be as close as the Cougars would get, however, as Lopez and Keeler knocked down three-pointers and Jobst got loose inside, pushing the lead back to 19 at 63-44.
Clark made one final push, trimming the lead down to 11 again after a 10-2 run that featured a pair of inside hoops by Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) and three-pointers from Armstrong and John Karas (South Glastonbury, Conn.).
As they did all night, the Lancers answered with a run of their own and after Keeler found a streaking Lopez for an easy bucket at 3:57, the score stood at 76-58 and any hopes of a comeback ended.
Worcester State – playing for the first time in 12 days – shot 59 percent from the field and controlled the interior, outscoring Clark 52-28 in the paint and held a decisive 48-30 edge on the glass.
Vayda paced the Cougar attack with 23 points and nine rebounds, while D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) added 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Armstrong chipped in with nine points, four rebounds and four assists.
Clark, now 3-2 after a 3-0 start is off until next Tuesday when they travel to Nichols College for a 7:30 start, while the Lancers host Regis College on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.