LAS VEGAS, NV. – Clark men's basketball (8-2) opened the d3hoops.com Classic with a contest against No. 22 Trinity (Tx.) (12-0) on Thursday night and were edged 84-83 from South Point Hotel & Casino Arena.

How it Happened

• Clark opened the game with a 13-12 lead as junior Isaiah Taylor scored five points, sophomore Ian Calabrese hit a three, and junior Kekoa McArdle converted an and-one layup with 13:41 remaining in the first half.
• Calabrese and Taylor then connected on a pair of three-pointers to extend the edge 21-16 and made triples from senior Mikey O'Brien and first-year Christopher Clarke helped push the advantage to 27-20 with 8:47 remaining in the half.
• McArdle, Taylor and Calabrese combined to score seven of Clark's next eight points as the Cougars kept the lead at seven at 35-28.
• Calabrese and Taylor scored the Cougars final five points of the half, but Trinity ended the half on a 15-5 run as the Tigers took a 43-40 lead into the half.
• Junior Bruce Saintilus, McArdle, and Taylor scored Clark's first six points of the second half as the scarlet and white tied the game at 46-46.
• Senior Jordan Richard hit a pair of triples after that and a made three-pointer from first-year Quentin Pridgen pulled Clark within one at 58-57 with 12:54 to go in the game.
• Trinity responded with eight unanswered points to take a nine-point lead before Taylor netted four points and a made triple from Richard cut the deficit to five at 71-66 with 6:46 remaining in the contest.
• First-year Reid Neumann hit a three-pointer and Saintilus and Richard each scored over the next few minutes as the scarlet and white trailed 75-73 with 3:58 left in the game.
• Taylor hit three free throws and a Neumann hit a triple with 2:57 remaining in the contest to pull Clark within one at 80-79 and a made layup from Taylor tied the game at 81-81.
• Saintilus hit a jumper with 1:08 to go to give Clark a two-point edge before the Tigers hit a triple with 0:29 remaining to go up by one at 84-83 and Saintilus missed a shot on the final possession as the Cougars fell.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 38 rebounds, dished out 19 assists, forced 11 turnovers, and shot 48.5% from the floor.
• Taylor led the team with 26 points and dished out five assists.
• Calabrese and Richard each added 11 points and four rebounds.
• McArdle led the team with eight rebounds and seven points.

What's Next
Clark will play their final game of the 2023 portion of their schedule with a contest against No. 8 Case Western Reserve beginning at 7:00 p.m.