Beverly, Mass. - Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) scored 12 points, including four, late game-clinching free throws and Reed Powell (Worcester, Mass.) scored a career-high 15 points as visiting Clark scratched past host Endicott, 56-52, in a non-conference men's basketball game on Saturday afternoon at MacDonald Gymnasium.

With the win, Clark improves to 5-3 on the season and ends a two game skid, while the Gulls fall even at 3-3 after winning back-to-back games.

A sloppy, low-scoring first half yielded the visitors a slight 20-18 lead at the intermission.

Out of the break, Clark stretched its lead to as many as 14 points when Jack Minister (Manchester, England) scored five straight points on a step-back three, and a hard-fought basket on the interior.

The Gulls, however, responded by mounting a 12-1 run that included four points, two rebounds and two assists by senior Kevin McGuire (New City, N.Y.) to put the Gulls right back in the game down three, 45-42, with just over five minutes remaining in regulation.

The Clark lead would fluctuate between five and seven points before junior guard Mike Rhodes (Amston, Conn.) nailed a hanging 3-pointer with 2:11 remaining to put the Gulls within three. After consecutive free-throws by Alexander, Kevin McGuire made it a two point game as he dialed in from the far corner, cutting the deficit to two at 54-52. On the ensuing inbounds play the Cougars were able to avoid the intentional Endicott foul, taking precious seconds off the clock with good ball-movement. Alexander then proceeded to ice the game with consecutive successful free-throws.

The Cougars scored 23 points off 25 Endicott turnovers and outscored the Gulls 12-4 in fast break points.

Powell, who made five of seven shots, including all three of his attempts from behind the arc, added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists to his totals. Both Alexander and Minister ended the afternoon with 12 points apiece, while Minister added eight rebounds and Alexander tacked on four assists.

McGuire was the Gulls' lone double-digit scorer finishing with 12 points and four rebounds. Erik Callo (Southington, Conn.) grabbed 11 rebounds in the losing effort while Tanner McEntee (Del Mar, Calif.) had nine points, all of which came in the first half.

Clark retakes the court on Thursday when the Cougars host Becker at 7:00 p.m., while Endicott returns to action on Tuesday evening as the Gulls host Eastern Connecticut.