WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark men's basketball team (13-8, 5-5 NEWMAC) returned home for their first of a three-game homestand when they welcomed Emerson (12-9, 7-3 NEWMAC) to the Kneller on Saturday afternoon and came away with a thrilling 84-80 victory over the Lions.

How it Happened

• Emerson jumped out to an early 13-6 lead over the first four minutes of play despite four points from junior Mikey O'Brien and a made layup from sophomore Kekoa McArdle.
• Clark answered with an 8-2 run sparked by an and-one layup from McArdle, a three-pointer from sophomore Isaiah Taylor, and a pair of made free throws to make it a 15-14 game with 13:44 left in the first half.
• After the Lions scored the games next six points, McArdle responded with four points and a layup from junior Bruce Saintilus with 9:03 remaining in the half got Clark within three at 25-22.
• Taylor scored Clark's next eight points with a pair of made three's and a layup to get the Cougars within one and four unanswered points by Saintilus gave Clark a 34-31 edge with 5:44 left in the first half.
• Sophomore Ian Calabrese then hit a three off a feed from junior Jordan Richard to extend the lead to six and after a run by the Lions, Taylor hit his fourth three of the half to give Clark a five-point lead at 40-35 with 3:29 remaining in the half.
• Taylor and Saintilus combined to score the Cougars final four points of the half, but a three from Max Davis with 0:03 left in the half gave Emerson a 45-44 lead at the break.
• Saintilus scored Clark's first five points of the second half before Taylor netted the Cougars next six points, including an and-one three-pointer with 17:17 remaining to put Clark up 55-49 early in the second half.
• After Emerson took a 62-57 lead, McArdle scored four of Clark's next six points to get back within three at 66-63 and five more points from Taylor tied the game at 68-68 with 9:10 to play.
• O'Brien gave Clark the lead at 70-68 with the contests next bucket and after Emerson scored the next five points, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run over the next four minutes that saw them hold the Lions without a point and got four points from Taylor as well as buckets from Saintilus, McArdle, and first-year Reid Neumann to put them up 80-73 with 3:31 remaining.
• Emerson punched back with seven unanswered points to tie the game at 80-80, but Richard was able to find McArdle under the hoop with 1:19 remaining and McArdle scored to give Clark a two-point lead.
• Clark then forced two missed shots on the next two possessions and Taylor earned a trip to the line with 0:12, which ended up giving the Cougars a four-point lead and another Emerson miss helped Clark recorded an 84-80 win.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 35 rebounds, dished out 14 assists, and forced 10 turnovers.
• Taylor netted a career-high 33 points on 12-20 shooting and dished out three assists.
• McArdle added 19 points, nine rebounds, and five assists.
• Saintilus scored 19 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and recorded two blocks.

What's Next

The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday when they welcome Wheaton to the Kneller for a NEWMAC game beginning at 7:00 p.m.