Springfield, Mass. – Clark University saw their season-opening four-game winning streak come to an end as the visiting Cougars dropped a 73-60 decision at Western New England in non-league men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Bears – playing in their home opener after four straight games on the road – got double-doubles from Nick DeFeo and Dennis Rinaldi en route to their second win of the season.

Western New England controlled the interior, outscoring the Cougars 38-22 in the paint. Much of the damage was done by Rinaldi, who finished with a game-high 22 points and 11 rebounds on 9-for-12 shooting in 33 minutes.

Clark, meanwhile, struggled shooting the ball, connecting on just 38 percent of their attempts, including going a frigid 7-for-33 from behind the arc and just 5-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Despite their shooting woes, the Cougars held a 44-40 lead with a little more than 12 minutes left to play following a conventional three-point play by Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.).

The Golden Bears then embarked on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to take a five point lead at 53-48.

Clark got as close as three a few minutes later when Josh St. Fort (Milton, Mass.) found Musler for an easy hoop, but the hosts responded again, rattling off an 11-2 spurt that featured six free throws from DeFeo (16 points, 11 rebounds, 10-for-10 from the free throw line) and an three-point play from Rinaldi.

When the dust cleared from the last scoring spree, the Cougars were down 68-56 with less than three minutes to go, sealing the win for the Golden Bears.

Conor Dow (Needham, Mass.) had his second straight strong outing for Clark, registering a team-best 13 points, while Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) added 11 and Musler chipped in with eight points and six boards. Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.), meanwhile, collected five points, ten rebounds and four assists off the bench.

Clark will return to the hardwood on Tuesday with a Worcester-area showdown with Anna Maria. The game is slated to tip at 4:00 p.m.