NORTON, Mass. – The No. 5 Clark men's basketball team (15-11) traveled to Emerson Gymnasium to take on No. 4 Wheaton (13-12) on Tuesday night and came away with a thrilling come-from-behind 73-71 victory over the Lyons.

The NEWMAC Tournament victory was Clark's first since the 2009-10 season when they defeated WPI 74-68 in the NEWMAC Championship.

The Cougars will play again on Thursday night when they travel across town to No. 1 WPI to compete in the NEWMAC Semifinals at 7:00 p.m. from the Harrington Auditorium.

Coach Simms Quote

"Our guys really fought hard and battled tonight against an experienced and well coached Wheaton team," said head coach Tyler Simms after the win. "Congratulations to them and their seniors on a great season and career. On our end, it was a complete team effort with not only balanced scoring, but great contributions from everyone on our roster. I thought our guys made some great effort plays defensively in the second half that gave us enough of a cushion in the final minutes, including a couple of big rebounds."

How it Happened

• Clark took an early 8-6 lead with 16:01 left in the first half sparked by three-pointers from junior Mikey O'Brien and first-year Reid Neumann as well as a made jumper from junior Bruce Saintilus.
• After Wheaton took a 14-10 advantage, O'Brien cut the deficit to two with a made layup as Clark then went on a 6-3 run with made triples from O'Brien and graduate student Joel Arteaga as the Cougars led 18-17.
• The Lyons then scored seven of the next nine points in the game before a sophomore Kekoa McArdle layup made it a 24-22 ballgame with 5:23 remaining in the first half.
• After trailing by six, sophomore Isaiah Taylor connected on a three-pointer and a made layup from Saintilus cut the deficit to one at 28-27 and McArdle scored Clark's final basket of the first half as the Lyons took a 33-29 lead into the half.
• Wheaton's Aaron Williams and Neumann traded three's to open the second half before Williams went on to score seven of the next nine points in the game to extend their lead to 43-34 with 17:24 remaining.
• After Wheaton extended the lead to 49-36, Clark went on a 7-0 run sparked by three points from O'Brien, and buckets from both McArdle and Taylor to get back within six at 49-43 with 11:31 to go in the game.
• The Lyons again pushed the lead to 13 at 56-43 with 10:19 to go, but Clark responded with a 20-7 run over the next five minutes of play led by nine points from sophomore Ian Calabrese, five points from junior Jordan Richard, four points from Saintilus, and two points from McArdle as the Cougars held a 63-62 lead with 5:52 remaining.
• Calabrese extended the lead to four with a made three-pointer off a steal as the Cougars possessed a 66-62 advantage with 5:21 to go.
• Taylor pushed the lead to six points at 68-62 before Alex Carlisle of Wheaton made a layup to pull the Lyons back within four, but O'Brien added to the lead with a made layup to make it 70-64 with 4:18 remaining.
• After Carlisle brought Wheaton back within five with a made free throw before Saintilus made a layup made a driving layup to extend the lead back up to 73-66 with 1:50 to play.
• Evan Cook and Carlisle scored on two of the Lyons next three possessions to make it a 73-71 game with 0:42 remaining.
• After Taylor missed a layup with 0:17 to go and Clark forced a missed layup from Carlisle with 0:04 remaining.
• The Lyons got the ball back with 0:03 left on the clock and Carlisle dribbled up the floor, put a shot up from near half court and had it hit the back of the backboard and miss as the Cougars prevailed with a 73-71 win.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 36 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, and forced 11 turnovers.
• McArdle led the way with 14 points and nine rebounds.
• O'Brien added 13 points and five rebounds.
• Calabrese and Saintilus each netted 12 points.

What's Next

The Cougars will play again on Thursday night when they travel across town to No. 1 WPI to compete in the NEWMAC Semifinals at 7:00 p.m. from the Harrington Auditorium.