LAS VEGAS, NV. – Clark men's basketball (8-3) took on No. 8 Case Western Reserve (11-0) in the final game of the d3hoops.com Classic and fell 98-87 to the Spartans on Friday night from South Point Arena.

How it Happened

• Case Western Reserve jumped out an early 9-4 lead before first-year Quentin Pridgen hit a three-pointer off an assist from junior Bruce Saintilus as the Cougars trailed 9-7.
• Junior Isaiah Taylor hit a jumper with 14:03 remaining to keep it a two-point game at 11-9 before the Spartans scored six unanswered to push the lead to 17-9.
• Senior Mikey O'Brien scored Clark's next four points with a pair of made jumpers before the Cougars went on an 8-0 run as O'Brien and Taylor each scored three points and Saintilus hit a jumper as Clark trailed 25-21 with 9:36 to go in the first half.
• Case Western scored nine unanswered points to go up by 13 before Clark scored eight unanswered sparked by points from sophomore Reid Neumann, Saintilus, Taylor, and senior Jordan Richard as the Cougars were behind 34-31 with 5:26 left in the half.
• Saintilus and Richard each scored before the end of the half as the scarlet and white trailed 48-36 at the break.
• Junior Kekoa McArdle netted the Cougars first three points of the second half before a triple from Richard cut the deficit to 10 at 52-42 with 16:43 remaining.
• Pridgen scored Clark's next five points and a pair of free throws from Saintilus made it a 14-point game as the Spartans would push the lead to as many as 17 before a triple from O'Brien kept it at a 14-point contest.
• Three-pointers from Neumann and junior Ian Calabrese as well as a converted and-one from Saintilus with 8:49 to go made it a 72-61 game.
• Taylor and Richard each scored over the next two minutes as Clark stayed within striking distance at 12 and a Richard triple with 4:52 remaining kept the deficit at 11 at 82-71.
• Clark got as close as nine points from the lead as Saintilus made a pair of free throws, but the Cougars fell 98-87.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 28 rebounds, dished out 18 assists, forced 14 turnovers, and shot 45.8% from the floor.
• Saintilus scored a team-leading 25 points and shot 60% from the field.
• Richard added 14 points and made a pair of three-pointers.
• Taylor (11), Pridgen (11), O'Brien (10), and Neumann (10) also reached double-figures.

What's Next
The Cougars will open the 2024 portion of their schedule on Wednesday with a road NEWMAC game at Babson beginning at 7:00 p.m.