Worcester, Mass. - John Pisacreta (Andover, Mass.) scored on a driving layup with 3.3 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and the Cougars held off Coast Guard, 81-74, win in a key New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball game on Wednesday evening.

The Cougars get a much needed win, improving to 6-14 overall and 3-6 in the NEWMAC while Coast Guard drops to 9-10 overall and 3-6 in conference play.

Clark led 62-59 following a pair of free throws by senior Tyler Huffman (West Hartford, Conn.) with 4:11 left in regulation.

Coast Guard finally took the lead 63-62 on a layup by senior Kevin Alvarez before junior Lamar Berk gave Clark a 65-63 lead on a layup.

Senior Ricky Rodriguez drilled a 3-pointer with 45 seconds left giving the Bears a 66-65 lead before Pisacreta's layup with 3.3 seconds left tied the game 67-67.

The Bears had a chance at the end of regulation to win the game, but Alvarez's three-pointer at the buzzer rattled out sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Clark led by four courtesy of a Pisacreta steal and finish and a pair of Lamar Berk (Saint Augustine, Fla.) free throws before Alvarez's 3-point play made the score 73-72 with 3:09 left. That would be the final field goal for either team as Clark would go 8 for 8 from the foul line in the final 2:18 to win the game.

Huffman led Clark with 23 points while junior David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) had 15 of his 20 points in the first half for the Cougars, while Pisacreta added a career-high 15 points and Berk finished with 14 of his own.

Alvarez led the Bears with 20 points while sophomore Darius Adams had 13 points and a career-high tying 12 rebounds, his second double-double of the season. Rodriguez added 11 points, junior Adrian Chuquillangui finished with ten points while senior Mark Krebs added ten rebounds for the Bears.

Coast Guard shot 36.8 percent (21 of 57) making 9 of 24 from 3-point range while Clark was 23 of 64 (35.9 percent) hitting 7 of 24 from behind the arc.

It was a nightmarish start for Coast Guard as Mercier scored Clark's first nine points of the game and the Cougars jumped out to a 14-1 lead with 14:02 left in the first half.

Chuquillangui made the Bears first field goal of the game - a 3-pointer with 13:43 left in the half - and that trey started an 11-0 run for the Bears as Coast Guard cut the deficit to 14-12 on a layup by Rodriguez with 11:01 left in the first half.

Coast Guard tied the game 18-18 on an old fashion three-point play by Krebs with 8:17 left in opening half.

Clark would get a trio of 3-pointers from three different players to key a 9-2 run as the Cougars took a 32-25 lead following a trey by junior Joe Atkinson (Milford, Mass.) with 5:11 left, helping the Scarlet and White to a 41-36 lead at the break.

Coast Guard would cut the deficit to 44-43 on a pair of free throws by Ethan Boose with 16:53 left before Clark ran off six straight pushing the lead to 50-43 with 15:30 left.

The Bears would score seven straight and tie the game 56-56 following a 3-pointer by sophomore Micah Baldez with 8:45 left in the second half.

Clark is back in action on Saturday when they travel to Emerson for a 3:00 p.m. start with the Lions.