Worcester, Mass. – Visiting Worcester State led by as many as 22 points in the first half and never looked back handing Clark University a humbling 85-68 defeat in non-league men's basketball action in front of a packed house at the refurbished Kneller Athletic Center on Thursday evening.

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.