WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark men's basketball (1-0) opened the 2023-24 season with a convincing 89-70 victory over Bates (0-1) on Saturday afternoon from the Kneller Gymnasium, outscoring the Bobcats by 15 in the second half.
How it Happened
- Bates jumped out to an early 10-5 lead despite four points from junior Kekoa McArdle and a made free throw from junior Bruce Saintilus before another made layup from McArdle pulled Clark within two at 10-8.
- After the Bobcats extended the edge to 17-10, Clark rattled off five unanswered points as junior Ian Calabrese connected on a three-pointer and senior Mikey O'Brien made a layup to pull back within two at 17-15 with 9:52 to go in the first half.
- Clark then went on an 11-4 run as McArdle and junior Isaiah Taylor each scored four points and a triple from Neumann off a Taylor pass gave the Cougars a 26-21 advantage.
- Bates tied the game at 26-26 with 4:09 remaining in the half, but the scarlet and white ended the period on a 13-9 run, led by three points from first-year Quentin Pridgen, McArdle, and Taylor, as well as points from Saintilus and senior Jordan Richard as Clark led 39-35 at the half.
- The teams traded baskets early in the second half before Bates cut the deficit to one despite buckets from Saintilus and McArdle, but Clark followed that up with a 12-2 run sparked by seven points from McArdle and an and-one three from Taylor to put the Cougars up 55-44 with 12:58 to go in the second half.
- Pridgen and Taylor each made layups to push the lead to 12 before the Bobcats scored eight unanswered to cut the deficit to four at 59-55, but Taylor and sophomore Reid Neumann each scored to push the lead back up to eight.
- A triple by Richard off a feed from O'Brien with 8:04 remaining extended the edge to 68-58 and a three from O'Brien with 4:53 to go gave Clark a 73-61 lead.
- Richard followed that up with another made three-pointer as well as a steal that led to an and-one layup from Pridgen as the Cougars built a 79-64 advantage with 3:50 to go.
- O'Brien and Saintilus each added three points down the stretch and McArdle and Taylor each scored two more points as Clark pulled away from Bates with an 89-70 win.
Inside the Box Score
- The Cougars grabbed 50 rebounds, dished out 18 assists, recorded 10 steals, and shot 52.5% from the floor.
- McArdle led the way with 24 points and pulled down 16 rebounds.
- Taylor added 19 points and led the squad in assists with six and steals with five.
- Saintilus also scored in double-figures with 14 points and grabbed four rebounds.
What's Next
The scarlet and white will return to the court on Tuesday night when they welcome Middlebury to the Kneller for a non-conference contest beginning at 5:00 p.m.
