Worcester, Mass. – In game that neither team shot better than 35 percent from the floor, it was host Clark University that eventually pulled away in the second half, topping visiting Coast Guard, 58-48, in New England Women's And Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.

The win for the Scarlet and White inches their overall record closer to .500 at 7-8, but more importantly, evens their conference record 2-2 in advance of their big Worcester city showdown with WPI on Tuesday evening.

For the Bears, meanwhile, they now stand at 5-10 overall and have lost three straight conference contests after opening league play with a two-point win over Wheaton back on January 7.

Today's matchup featured eight lead changes and four ties – something that didn't seem likely after the Cougars jumped out to an early 13-4 lead courtesy of three straight three-pointers from Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.), Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn.) and Matthew Woods (Arlington, Mass.).

Coast Guard battled back, going on an 11-0 burst capped by an Avierre Connor (Avon Park, Fla.) triple, giving the Bears a 15-13 lead.

The lead changed hands a few more times as the half wound down, and when Eli Spoonseller (North Pole, Alaska) dropped in a leftside jumper with a little more than a minute left, the Bears went into intermission with a 27-26 advantage.

Clark opened the second half on a surge, scoring 15 of the half's first 19 points as David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) scored six and Woods added five during the run.

Another Mercier basket – this one off an excellent one-handed bullet from Joe Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) – put the Cougar advantage at its peak at 45-33 with a little under 13 minutes to go.

Coast Guard made one final push closing to within six at 45-39 following consecutive baskets from Ethan Boose (New Philadelphia, Ohio), but the Scarlet and White had an answer as Musler drained a rightside three-pointer and made a short inside hoop surrounded by a another Boose basket.

Amazingly, after Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) found Huffman on the business end of a fast break, making the score 54-42 with exactly seven minutes to play, the Cougars didn't make another basket but they went four-for-four from the charity stripe to help keep the Bears at bay.

Coast Guard did get as close as seven following a Ricky Rodriguez (Caracas, Venezuela) three-pointer with 4:45 left, but they went cold from the field and made just one free throw the rest of the game.

Clark connected on just 30 percent of their field goal attempts (17-for-56), but went 17-for-20 from the free throw line, including a 15-for-16 performance in the final 20 minutes.

The Bears actually shot better than the Scarlet and White from the field (34.7%) but committed 16 turnovers, which the Cougars converted into 14 points.

Musler led all scorers with 12 points, nine rebounds and four assists, while DaPrato (six rebounds, five assists), Mercier (nine rebounds, two blocks, two steals) and Woods (two rebounds, two assists) all had eight points.

Sponseller was the lone Bear in double figures with ten points and Rodriguez added nine and Conner chipped in with eight.

The Bears are off until Wednesday when they visit Springfield. Clark, will welcome the Engineers for a 7:00 p.m. tip that will be broadcast locally on Charter TV-3.