WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark men's basketball (7-1, 1-0 NEWMAC) opened up conference play and competed in their final home game of the 2023 portion of their schedule against Wheaton (5-3, 0-1 NEWMAC) and came away with a thrilling 90-79 overtime victory over the Lyons on Wednesday night from the Kneller Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• Clark jumped out to an early 5-0 lead as sophomore Reid Neumann hit a triple and junior Bruce Saintilus made a layup before the Lyons scored 13 unanswered points to take a 13-5 advantage with 14:04 remaining in the first half.
• Junior Ian Calabrese cut the deficit to five with a made three-pointer and as the teams traded baskets, senior Jordan Richard made a three off a feed from junior Isaiah Taylor to make it an 18-13 game.
• Wheaton rattled off the next 11 points before Taylor, junior Kekoa McArdle, and Saintilus scored to pull the Cougars within 10 at 29-19 with 4:20 to go in the first half.
• First-year Quentin Pridgen and Taylor scored Clark's final four points before the break as the Lyons took a 36-23 lead into the break.
• Clark cut the deficit to 10 three times early in the second half as the team's traded buckets as Taylor netted six points in that stretch, capping it off with a jumper with 11:53 to go in the half as Clark trailed 51-41.
• The Cougars then scored five unanswered as Calabrese hit a triple and Saintilus connected on a layup off a feed from Calabrese to pull Clark within five at 51-46 and a Neumann three-pointer from Taylor made it a 53-49 contest with 9:52 remaining.
• With the Lyons going up by six, Clark answered with an 8-5 run as Saintilus netted six points and a pair of made free throws from Calabrese made it a 60-57 game with 7:25 to go.
• The Cougars then went on a 15-1 run sparked by eight points from Saintilus, three from Calabrese, and two from both first-year Quentin Pridgen and Taylor to give Clark a 72-61 edge with 3:16 remaining.
• The Lyons bounced back with seven unanswered to cut the deficit to 72-68 before a made Taylor free throw would extend the Cougar edge to 73-68 with 0:28 to go.
• Wheaton's Tristan Herry scored the final five points of regulation, including a made triple to tie the game at 73-73 and Saintilus missed a three on the Cougars final possession as the game went into overtime.
• In overtime, Pridgen and Taylor combined to score Clark's first three points as the Cougars led 76-75 before Saintilus and Taylor combined to produce the next four points to extend the lead to 80-75 with 1:53 remaining.
• After a pair of made free throws from Wheaton's Taro Tari cut the deficit to three, Clark scored the next six points as McArdle netted three points and Calabrese and Saintilus each hit free throws to push the edge to 86-79.
• Saintilus and Taylor each made free throws over the final 0:14 of overtime as the scarlet and white came away with a thrilling 90-79 victory.  

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 46 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, forced 16 turnovers, and shot 46.0% from the floor.
• Saintilus led the team with 27 points and seven steals, while adding seven rebounds.
• Taylor added 21 points and a team-leading six assists.
• Calbrese provided 18 points on a perfect 5-5 from the floor, including four three-pointers.
• McArdle (12) and Pridgen (10) each added double-digit rebounds.

What's Next
The scarlet and white will play their first road NEWMAC game of the year when they travel to Salve Regina for a contest beginning at 1:00 p.m.