Springfield, Mass. - Sophomore forward Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) netted 18 points and senior forward Jack Minister (Manchester, England) added 12 points to lead Clark University to a 78-68 victory over Framingham State and advance to the championship game of the 2009 Golden Bear Tip Off Classic hosted by Western New England College.

The Cougars (2-1) raced out to a 44-27 at halftime before the Rams rallied behind senior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass.) who scored the final five points in a 16-2 run to pull within 51-48 with 10:57 remaining.

Clark answered with six straight points before Framingham State (0-2) cut the margin to three for the final time on a pair of free throws by senior guard Darius Yarrell (Brockton, Mass.) at the 8:07 mark.

The Cougars reeled off eight unanswered points with a basket by sophomore center Tom Desautels (Manchester, Conn.) increasing the lead to 65-54 with 6:43 left.

Almodovar finished with a double-double of 21 points and 10 rebounds while senior forward Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, Mass.) added 18 points. Yarrell was the third FSC player in double figures with 11 points.

All 10 players who got in the game scored points for Clark who finished shooting 50 percent from the field (26-for-52).

Clark will face Mount Saint Mary's tomorrow at 2 p.m. for the tournament championship.