Worcester, Mass. – Lamar Berk (Saint Augustine, Fla.) saw his potential game-tying three-pointer waved off and visiting Clark dropped a 61-58 non-league men's basketball decision to Western New England in heartbreaking fashion on Saturday afternoon.

The loss sends the Cougars into the semester break at 1-8 overall, while the Golden Bears have won back-to-back games for the first time this season to improve to 3-5.

With the score tied at 58-58 with less than ten seconds remaining, Mike Gelineau – who was saddled with foul trouble most of the afternoon – delivered the go-ahead three-pointer with four seconds left to put the hosts ahead.

Berk was able to connect on a three-pointer from the top of the arc, but it was ruled to have come after the horn sounded.

Neither team led by more than seven points in a game that saw five lead changes and five ties.

Clark actually built a five-point second half advantage as John Pisacreta (North Andover, Mass.) nailed a three-pointer and Evan Lerner (Hopedale, Mass.) scored inside, making the game 36-31.

The Cougars were ahead for the next six minutes until a 9-1 Western New England run turned a 47-42 Scarlet and White advantage into a 51-48 deficit with exactly six minutes left to play.

Clark would tie the game three more times and even surge ahead, 56-55 as Joe Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) erupted offensively, scoring the Cougars' final ten points. First, he drained a three-pointer to even the score at 54-54, then his steal and layup actually gave the Scarlet and White the lead with 2:47 left.

Down 56-55, Gelineau put the Golden Bears back in front with a three-pointer but a Lerner steal eventually led to Atkinson knotting the game at 58-58 on an inside finish with 18 seconds left.

For the game, Clark shot 42 percent from the field, but were hot in the second half, connecting on 52 percent of their attempts.

The Cougars held a slight rebounding advantage, 31-30 and also had a 26-16 edge on points in the paint.

Atkinson scored 15 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the Clark attack, while Lerner hit double figures for the first time in his career, adding ten points and a career-best seven rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench.

Meanwhile, Berk played a game-high 36 minutes and ended with nine points and six rebounds and Luca McCormick (Bradenton, Fla.) chipped in with six points and eight rebounds.

The Cougars are off until Tuesday, December 29 when they play host to Wentworth in the opening game of the Clark Alumni Basketball Holiday Invitational. Tip-off is slated for 12:00 p.m.