Norton, Mass. – Down by as many as 17 points in the first half, visiting Clark University rallied for a miraculous 66-58 win over Wheaton College in a crucial New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball matchup on Saturday afternoon.

With the win the Cougars snap a three-game losing streak and improve their overall record to 10-8 while moving to 4-3 in league action. The Lyons, meanwhile, sees their brief two-game winning streak come to an end and now sit at 8-10 and 1-6 in conference play.

Wheaton came out on fire, connecting on eight three-pointers in the opening 20 minutes as they raced out to a 27-10 lead following a 14-0 run midway through the period.

Clark immediately answered back going on an 11-0 run capped by a Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn.) three-pointer that made the game 27-21.

Mike Cannon made a three-pointer and a layup for the Lyons to bump their lead back to 11, but again the Cougars stormed back, this time posting a 10-0 run on the strength of seven points from freshman Tyler Veretto (South Windsor, Conn.) to close to within one at 32-31 before settling for a 37-33 halftime deficit.

The end-of-the-half momentum stayed with the Cougars and a Veretto triple put Clark ahead at 44-42 with 13:37 left to play.

There were two more ties and three more lead changes over the next eight minutes until back-to-back baskets from D.J. Bailey (Palmer, Mass.) and Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) put the Cougars up for good at 56-52 with less than five minutes to go.

Ryan Clinesmith got the Lyons to within two on a short jump hook, but Clark got a jumper from Travis Curley (Trumbull, Conn.) moments later that kept the lead at four.

Clinesmith scored inside again, but unlike their pervious contest where they struggled from the free throw line, the Cougars went 8-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final 1:30 to secure the win.

Despite shooting just 35 percent from the field, Clark was able to control the interior, outscoring Wheaton 32-24 in the paint and holding a 48-32 edge on the glass.

After its hot start from behind the arc in the first half, the Lyons went 1-for-11 from three-point territory in the final 20 minutes.

Bailey and Vayda each recorded double-doubles, with Bailey totaling 14 points, 12 rebounds and five blocks and Vayda racking up 14 points and ten boards.

Veretto, meanwhile, finished with a career-best 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting in just ten minutes.

Clark will now embark on an extremely difficult stretch, playing host to a pair of non-league opponents in Rhode Island College (Thursday, January 31) and Tufts University (Monday, February 4), while visiting league rival Babson College (Saturday, February 2).