NEW LONDON, Conn. – Clark men's basketball (15-6, 9-3 NEWMAC) traveled to Coast Guard (12-8, 5-6 NEWMAC) and despite a strong second half effort came up short in an 82-76 loss to the Bears on Wednesday night from Roland Gymnasium.

Junior Bruce Saintilus reached the 1,000 point club in the contest. 

How it Happened

• Coast Guard jumped out to an early 12-8 lead despite six points from junior Kekoa McArdle and a made layup from fellow junior Isaiah Taylor.
• Junior Ian Calabrese connected on a three-pointer off a feed from Taylor to cut the deficit to one at 15-14 with 12:29 remaining in the first half and a Saintilus jumper helped keep the Cougars within one.
• The Bears however extended their lead to eight before sophomore Reid Neumann hit a triple off a pass from senior Mikey O'Brien to make it a 28-23 contest.
• McArdle, Saintilus, and Calabrese all scored over the next two minutes to help Clark pull back within one at 31-30 with 3:49 to play in the half.
• Coast Guard however ended the half on a 13-4 run with the Cougars final four points coming from McArdle as the Bears led 44-34.
• Clark scored seven points right out of the gate to open the second half as O'Brien scored five and McArdle made a layup to get the Cougars back within three before a Saintilus jumper with 16:42 to play made it a 46-45 contest in favor of the Bears.
• A Saintilus triple and free throw from Taylor tied the game at 49-49, but the Bears responded with a 12-1 run as Coast Guard held a 61-50 lead with 11:13 remaining.
• Saintilus then scored six points, including a jumper with 8:30 to go pulled Clark within five at 66-61 and a pair of Taylor free throws made it a 70-64 contest.
• Saintilus and Taylor combined to net Clark's next four points and a three-pointer from senior Jordan Richard brought the Cougars within two at 73-71 with 3:17 remaining.
• After five unanswered Bears points, Taylor made four straight free throws to make it a 78-75 game with 0;21 to go and after a missed free throw from Coast Guard, Taylor went 1-2 from the line to make it a 78-76 game.
• Luke Farrell sealed the contest for the Bears with a pair of made free throws with 0:05 to play as Coast Guard came away with an 82-76 win.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 40 rebounds, dished out nine assists, and recorded five steals.
• McArdle recorded his 10th double-double of the season with 18 points and 13 rebounds.
• Taylor added 19 points and connected on 11 free throws.
• Saintilus also recorded 18 points and six rebounds.

What's Next
Clark will return to the court on Saturday afternoon with a home contest against Emerson beginning at 1:00 p.m.