WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark men's basketball team (13-9, 5-6 NEWMAC) welcomed Wheaton (12-9, 7-4 NEWMAC) to the Kneller on Wednesday night for a NEWMAC clash and led at the half, but were eventually upended by the Lyons by a 73-71 margin in front of a packed house.

How it Happened

• Wheaton possessed an early 13-6 lead despite four points from sophomore Kekoa McArdle and a made layup from junior Mikey O'Brien before a pair of made free throws from graduate student Joel Arteaga brough the Cougars within five at 15-10 with 9:59 to go in the first half.
• Arteaga then connected on a three-pointer off a feed from sophomore Isaiah Taylor and a made layup from Taylor on the next possession tied the game at 15-15 with 8:36 remaining in the first half.
• Junior Bruce Saintilus and McArdle traded points with Wheaton over the next three minutes before a made triple from O'Brien off a pass from Taylor gave Clark a 22-19 advantage.
• After Wheaton tied the game at 24-24, sophomore Ian Calabrese and junior Jordan Richard each hit three's and a pair of Calabrese free throws helped spark an 8-0 run to put Clark ahead 32-24 with 1:28 to go until halftime.
• Saintilus was able to connect on a put-back layup as time expired right before the half as the Cougars took a 36-28 lead into the break.
• Out of the half, Saintilus scored Clark's first four points with four made free throws to extend the lead to 40-28 and a made layup from Taylor with 18:33 to go pushed the Cougar lead to 43-29.
• The Lyons then scored 11 unanswered points to get back within three, but O'Brien responded with Clark's next five points after hitting a three-pointer and making a layup to keep the lead at six at 48-42.
• After Wheaton go back within four, Taylor and McArdle combined to score the game's next four points to go up 52-44, but the Lyons answered back 13 straight points to take a 57-52 advantage with 11:18 to play.
• McArdle ended the run with a pair of made free throws and triple's from first-year Reid Neumann and Calabrese to make it a one-point game at 61-60 with 8:52 remaining.
• Wheaton then went on a 9-2 run with the Clark points coming from Richard and a Calabrese triple off a pass from O'Brien got the Cougars within four at 69-65 with 5:25 left in the game.
• Clark then held Wheaton scoreless for over two minutes and got a made layup from McArdle with 3:03 to go to pull within two, but Wheaton answered with two more points of their own.
• The teams continued to trade buckets as Richard made a layup off a feed from McArdle to get back within two and Alex Carlisle of Wheaton made a layup with 2:03 to go to go back up four.
• Clark got two defensive stops before Taylor found a cutting McArdle with 0:36 remaining to make it a 73-71 game and after a pair of missed free throws by Wheaton, Clark had the ball with 0:23 to go.
• McArdle was fouled and earned a trip to the line, but missed both free throws before Richard grabbed an offensive rebound and Taylor put up a shot with 0:03 remaining that couldn't find the bottom of the net as Clark fell 73-71.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 38 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, and forced 11 turnovers.
• McArdle led the way with 15 points and six rebounds.
• O'Brien added 12 points and three assists.
• Calabrese (11) and Saintilus (10) also reached double-figures in the game.
• Taylor grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.

What's Next

Clark will return to the court on Saturday when they welcome Babson to the Kneller for their senior day game beginning at 1:00 p.m.