WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark University men's basketball were defeated by WPI on Saturday as junior Colin McNamara led four starters in double-digits for the Engineers, posting 15 points to boost the visitors in a 75-57 final in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) tilt at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The Basics

Score: Engineers 75, Cougars 57

Records: Clark University (8-9, 3-3 NEWMAC) | WPI (14-3, 5-1 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

Junior guard Biko Gayman (Fort Pierce, Fla.) notched a game-high 18 points while also matching the game-high output of four assists. Junior co-captain Tyler Davern (Webster, Mass.) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Cougars, scoring 11 points while grabbing seven rebounds in a game-high 38 minutes of action.

Junior co-captain Charles Stevens (Bronx, N.Y) finished with nine points on 3-of-5 from three-point range and sophomore Joel Arteaga (Wyncote, Pa.) turned in eight points. Junior Anthony Grzembski (Webster, Mass.) matched the game-high of four assists in 23 minutes.

For WPI, McNamara paired his team-high 15 points with a game-high nine rebounds while Jake Wisniewski and Kahleb Downing put forth 14 and 13 points respectively. First-year John Lowther recorded 12 points to support the starting unit.

Both teams started scoreless until the 18:01 mark as a three-pointer from Davern gave Clark its first lead of the contest. WPI took its first lead moments later as a layup from Lowther capped off a brief 8-3 run for the Engineers.

WPI's Downing and Clark's Gayman exchanged three-pointers moments later, knotting the score at 11-11 with 14:37 to go in the half. The Engineers extended out to five points as a lay-up and an and-one from the stripe by Wisniewski made it a 21-16 score.

With 9:03 to go, Gayman went on a quick five-point personal run for his team, rattling in a three-pointer from deep before coming down the next possession and willing in a lay-up through a group of Engineers to tie it up at 21-21.

WPI responded with an 8-2 scoring run to gain separation as three-pointers from McNamara and Dakota Wheeler gave the visitors a 29-23 edge. The squads matched each other on the scoreboard in the final 5:41 of the half by a 9-9 clip, with the Engineers taking a 38-32 lead into the intermission.

Davern began the second half with a lay-up to cut the gap down to four points. From there, WPI posted nine unanswered points, four coming from Lowther, before another bucket inside from Davern disrupted the run. With 13:38, Davern scored his sixth consecutive point for the Cougars, trimming the deficit to 49-38.

With 10:21 to play the Cougars caught fire from beyond the arc as Arteaga's bucket from the triple began a streak of five straight three-pointers by the host. Stevens scored all nine of his points during the run, knocking down a trio of three-pointers to make it a 62-55 gap with 4:35 left on the clock.

WPI went onto controlled a 13-2 run with the remaining time on the clock, with Lowther and Downing combing for ten points to pull away with the 75-57 final score.

Clark finished 20-of-56 from the floor (35.7%) while knocking down 12-of-33 from beyond the arc (36.4%) while WPI shot 28-of-60 (46.7%) and 5-of-22 from three-point range (22.7%). The Engineers controlled the glass by a 46-26 rate while knocking down 14-of-15 from the charity stripe throughout the game.

Up Next

The Cougars travel to Cambridge, Mass. to take on MIT on Wednesday, January 29 for a contest in the NEWMAC. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:00 pm.