Springfield, Mass. - Clark University erased a nine-point deficit in a span of 44 seconds and used two free throws by freshman Jake Gubitose (Fiskdale, Mass.) with 12 seconds remaining to complete a stunning 78-76 comeback win over Springfield College in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) action on Saturday afternoon in Blake Arena.

With the win, the Cougars improved to 9-14 overall, 3-7 in league play, while the Pride's five-game winning streak came to a close as it now stands at 14-9 overall, 6-4 in NEWMAC play.

The victory also gave Clark head coach Paul W. Phillips his 200th win on the Cougar sidelines – the second most in school history. Wally Halas won 232 games in the late 1970's and through the 1980's. Phillips has more than 360 career victories in 23 seasons as a head coach.

Clark was paced by junior forward Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) who turned in a stellar performance with 21 points and 13 caroms on 7-of-15 shooting.

Junior forward DJ Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) came off the bench to net a career-best 15 points before fouling out, while junior forward Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, Mass.), junior guard Travis Curley (Trumbull, Conn.), and sophomore guard Tucker Esborn (Branford, Conn.) each contributed 10 points.

For Springfield, senior forward Matt Cavalieri (West Warwick, R.I.) netted a team-best 21 points (6-for-23 field goals) for the Pride and pulled down 12 boards, while junior guard Jordan Rote (Sheffield, Mass.) continued to shine off the bench, producing 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting.

Both senior guard Darvis Rankins (Boston, Mass.) and senior guard Billy Harkins (Bellmore, N.Y.) tallied 11 points and combined for seven assists.

The Pride came out of the gate strong and owned a 10-point lead at the 13:30 mark after Cavalieri connected on a three to make it 16-6. However, the Cougars eventually found their rhythm around the Springfield zone as they went on a 20-5 run over the next 7:59 en route to a 26-21 lead. An acrobatic lay-in by Rote evened the game at 30 all with 2:09 remaining, only to have back-to-back Bailey inside buckets give the visitors a four-point cushion. The teams traded buckets down the stretch before Cavalieri ended the half with a pair of free throws to make it 38-37 in favor of the visitors heading into intermission.

In the second half, Clark was able to maintain its very slight lead until a Cavalieri lay-up tied it at 50-all with 13:03 remaining. A 3-pointer by Harkins put the Pride into the lead at 53-50 with 12:09 left. With Springfield up by three at 58-55, the Pride then scored six straight points to open up a nine-point edge.

Springfield led by 11, its largest lead with 4:16 remaining, on two Rote free throws. The Pride still led by nine at 76-67 with 2:22 to go on a Harkins' free throw. But little did anyone know that would be Springfield's last point of the afternoon.

Clark's Esborn made two free throws with 2:14 to go. After an SC turnover, Vayda made two more free throws at 2:09 left to cut it to five, 76-71.

Two Clark steals later, it was Vayda making a lay-up with 1:44 to go, and it was a three point game at 76-73.

Freshman guard Jeff Tagger (Brockton, Mass.) stole the ball immediately and found Gubitose, in the dead right corner for a tying 3-pointer, and there was still 1:38 remaining.

A lay-up attempt by junior forward Evan Christner (Voorhessville, N.Y.) with 20 seconds left was rebounded by Vayda. At the same time, a double foul was called when Clark sophomore Jon Karas (South Glastonbury, Conn.) and Springfield forward Pat Rossi (Rock Tavern, N.Y.) were scrambling for position and fell to the floor.

Clark retained possession, but with 12 seconds left, Gubitose was fouled about 30 feet away from the hoop and calmly swished both free throws.

A final 3-point attempt by Rote in the last second hit the rim, giving the Cougars the victory.

The Cougars, who are still alive for a spot in the NEWMAC postseason tournament, have two games remaining on their regular season schedule. They visit Babson on Wednesday before closing out their campaign next Saturday at WPI.