SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – Led by a 31-point outburst from senior guard Jake Ross, No. 19 Springfield College upended Clark University, 100-65, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tilt on Wednesday night at the Blake Arena.

The Basics

Score: Pride 100, Cougars 65

Records: Clark University (7-7, 2-1 NEWMAC) | No. 19 Springfield College (12-2, 3-0 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

Junior guard Biko Gayman (Fort Pierce, Fla.) tallied his third consecutive 20-point game, leading the Cougars with a 21-point effort on 10-of-17 shooting while also collecting four assists and three steals on the defensive end.

Sophomore Zackary Mittelstadt (Wilton, Maine) enjoyed a strong outing in 27 minutes off the bench, leading all reserves with 19 points on 5-of-8 from three-point range while connecting on 7-of-10 from the floor. Junior Tyler Davern (Webster, Mass.) posted his team-leading sixth game of the season of ten or more rebounds, coming up with ten boards to lead the squad.

For Springfield, Ross finished with a game-high 31 points net on 7-of-9 from beyond the arc while pulling down 12 rebounds for a double-double. Forward Heath Post registered 17 points to go with a game-high 13 boards while Collin Lindsay and Trey Witter tallied 11 points apiece.

The teams opened the action by trading buckets with Clark grabbing an early 7-6 lead following a layup from Gayman. Lindsay put the Pride back on top quickly after, knocking down the two consecutive three-pointers to swing a 12-7 advantage over to the host with 15:16 remaining in the half.

The Cougars wasted no time responding with junior co-captain Charles Stevens (Bronx, N.Y.) draining a triple before Mittelstadt canned three three-pointers in a row to highlight a quick 12-0 unanswered run in just over a minute's span for a 19-12 lead. After a basket from Ross halted the scoreless streak, Mittelstadt remained hot from beyond the arc, connecting on his fourth trey of the half to keep the advantage at eight points with 12:28 left in the session.

Springfield was able to pull even at 24-24 shortly after as a three-pointer from Ross jumpstarted a 10-2 run, capped off with another longball from Post to knot the score. The offense of the pride began to click in the final 8:03 of the half as a three from Daryl Costa sparked a 27-10 scoring run with the host taking a 51-34 lead into the break.

In the second half, Gayman began to find a rhythm for the Cougars with 14 of his 21 points coming in the final 20 minutes of play. But on the other side of the floor, the Pride was able to retain its momentum as Ross continued to carry the offense with 12 points on four three-pointers in the second period. With 9:40 to go in regulation, the Pride opened up its biggest lead of the contest (86-47) following a lay-in from Harper Niven before coasting to the 100-65 final score. 

Clark shot 27-of-66 from the floor during the setback (40.9%) while Springfield canned 38-of-80 shots from the floor (47.5%) including a 16-for-36 performance from three-point range (44.4%). The Pride led the rebound total by a 52-30 clip during the game and controlled the offensive glass with a 19-7 margin. Additionally, Springfield's bench scoring allowed the Pride to lead the category by a 34-23 difference.   

Up Next

The Cougars return to home court on Saturday, January 18 when No. 17 Babson visits the Kneller Athletic Center for a NEWMAC tilt. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm.