New York, N.Y. – Senior Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) scored nine straight points during a crucial second-half stretch and Clark University held off Wentworth Institute of Technology, 80-69 in the second game of the NYU Holiday Classic on Saturday night.

The Cougars improve to 6-4 with the victory and will face Classic host NYU on Sunday night at 7:00 p.m.

In addition to Armstrong's performance, Clark got excellent all-around outings from both D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) and Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.).

Leading 40-25 in the opening moments of the second half following a Bailey hoop, the Cougars saw the Leopards connect on four three-pointers during a 19-4 run that tied the game at 44-44 with 13 minutes remaining.

Wentworth – who connected on a season-best 11 three-pointers – stayed close and were within three after a Corey Therriault layup with a little less than seven minutes to go.

That's when Armstrong made his move, first making a pair of free throws, then a basket on the interior before connecting on a triple and then finally finishing on the break off a feed from Vayda. When the dust cleared, the Cougars were ahead 66-56 with a little more than three minutes to play.

Clark would only score one more basket the rest of the way but went 12-for-14 from the charity stripe to seal the win.

The Cougars had a season-high 19 assists on their 26 baskets and held a 42-30 edge on the glass.

Armstrong scored 12 of his career-best 16 points in the final 20 minutes, while John Karas (South Glastonbury, Conn.) chipped in with ten points, three rebounds and three assists.

Bailey, meanwhile, had this third consecutive monster outing, totaling 20 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Vayda nearly finished with his first career triple-double, ending with 16 points, 13 rebounds and a career-high seven assists.