WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark men's basketball (2-0) played their second home game of the year with another NESCAC non-conference contest, this time against Middlebury (0-2) and came away with a 70-66 win over the Panthers on Tuesday night from the Kneller Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• Clark opened the game on a 10-4 run over the first four minutes of play sparked by seven points from junior Bruce Saintilus, that included a pair of made layups and a three-pointer as well as a made triple from fellow junior Isaiah Taylor.
• After the Panthers pulled to within three at 12-9, the scarlet and white responded with six unanswered points as Taylor netted four and junior Kekoa McArdle connected on a layup off a feed from first-year Quentin Pridgen to go up 18-9 with 11:32 to go in the first half.
• Saintilus extended the edge to double-digits with a converted and-one layup before Middlebury went on a run to cut the deficit to three, but again Clark answered with nine unanswered points off a made three from senior Mikey O'Brien and three points from McArdle to take a 33-21 advantage.
• O'Brien connected on the Cougars final three of the half off a feed from senior Jordan Richard as Clark took a 36-29 lead into the locker room.
• Saintilus and O'Brien each made three-pointers to open the second half to push the lead to eight at 44-36 and after Middlebury cut the deficit to two points, Saintilus made a free throw with 15:44 to go in the half to extend the lead to three.
• After Middlebury took the lead, McArdle scored four unanswered points, but Middlebury was able to net six straight points and a layup from first-year Christopher Clark with 11:49 remaining in the half tied the game at 53-53.
• Down four, Saintilus made a layup and an O'Brien triple helped cut the deficit to one before a made layup from Taylor gave Clark a 60-59 lead.
• Richard connected on a jumper with 5:20 to go to extend the edge to 65-62 and a made layup from O'Brien with 3:02 remaining made it a 67-64 contest as both defenses set the tone down the stretch.
• After a made layup from David Brennan cut the deficit to one at 67-66 for the Panthers with 2:27 to go, Clark ended the game with three unanswered points, two from McArdle and an O'Brien free throw as the Cougars held Middlebury scoreless over the final 2:27 as the scarlet and white came away with a 70-66 victory.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 34 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, recorded nine steals, and shot 48.3% from the floor.
• Saintilus scored a team-leading 19 points and registered three steals.
• McArdle added his second double-double of the year with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
• O'Brien netted 15 points and dished out five assists.
• Taylor also reached double-figures with 12 points.

What's Next
Clark will return to action on Saturday afternoon with a road contest at Baruch College beginning at 3:00 p.m.