PAXTON, Mass. – The Clark men's basketball team (6-0) played its final game before the Thanksgiving Break and came away with a thrilling 87-84 win against Anna Maria (2-3) on Tuesday night from the Fuller Activities Center.

How it Happened

• Graduate student Tyler Davern opened the game with eight of Clark's first 10 points as he connected on a pair of threes and a layup as the Cougars held a 10-4 lead less than three four minutes into the game and a layup from first-year Isaiah Taylor pushed the lead to 14-7 with 14:34 to go in the first half.
• Davern connected on another three and fellow graduate student Matthew Waggett and sophomore Bruce Saintlilus each made layups to push the lead to eight at 21-13 before Clark went on a 9-5 run sparked by another Davern triple and buckets from senior Zackary Mittelstadt and Saintilus as the Cougars led 30-18 with 9:23 left in the first half.
• Anna Maria pulled within seven before first-year Donovan Price hit a pair of free throws and Davern made another three to go back up by none at 35-25 with 6:19 remaining in the first before the Amcats ended the first half on a 16-10 run despite baskets from sophomore Mikey O'Brien, sophomore Kolby Randolph, Saintilus, Taylor, and buzzer beating layup from Mittelstadt as Clark led 45-41 at the half.
• Saintilus opened the second half with the Cougars first five points for Clark with a layup and O'Brien and Mittelstadt each made layups as the scarlet and white took a 54-49 lead with 15:01 to go.
• After Anna Maria pulled within two, Mittelstadt made another layup and connected on a triple to go back up by five at 61-56 and Davern later connected on an and-one layup to go up 65-56 with 9:43 remaining in the game.
• After the Amcats pulled within one at 67-66, Saintilus made a driving layup to go back up by three with 7:14 to go and after trading buckets, Saintilus again connected on an and-one to take a 71-69 advantage with 6:23 remaining.
• Davern connected on his sixth three of the game and O'Brien buried a triple to extend the lead to 78-71 with 5:36 to go and free throws from Saintilus and Davern put the Cougars up 82-75 with 2:48 to go.
• Another Saintilus layup pushed the lead to eight at 84-76 before the Amcats scored the next five points and graduate student Biko Gayman converted a pair of critical free throws to go up 86-81 with 1:13 remaining and with an 87-84 lead, the Cougars forced a stop at the buzzer on a three-pointer to win 87-84.

Inside the Box Score

• Davern netted a team-high 26 points, including six made three-pointers and grabbed four rebounds.
• Saintilus recorded a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds.
• Mittelstadt added 13 points, five rebounds, and four steals.
• Clark grabbed 51 rebounds, shot 37.8 percent from the floor, dished out 19 assists, and recorded 14 steals, while forcing 24 turnovers.

What's Next

Clark will return to the court on Tuesday, November 30 when they welcome Lesley to the Kneller for a matchup beginning at 7:00 p.m.