WORCESTER, Mass. – Clark men's basketball (10-3, 4-0 NEWMAC) played their first home game of the 2024 portion of their schedule and came away with a 76-64 victory over Coast Guard (8-4, 1-2 NEWMAC) on Saturday afternoon from the Kneller Gymnasium.  

Junior Isaiah Taylor was honored before the game for becoming the 32nd player in program history to reach the 1,000 point club.
How it Happened

• Clark scored the first five points of the game as junior Kekoa McArdle scored three points and junior Bruce Saintilus made a jumper before the Bears went on a 10-2 run to give Coast Guard a 10-7 lead.
• McArdle and first-year Quentin Pridgen combined to score the game's next four points before the Bears retook the lead at 18-11, but the scarlet and white responded with seven unanswered points led by seniors Jordan Richard and Michael O'Brien as well as an and-one from Saintilus tied the game at 18-18 with 9:11 to go in the first half.
• Sophomore Reid Neumann hit a three off a feed from O'Brien to keep the Cougars in the lead, but the Bears went on an 8-0 run over the next three minutes before Saintilus connected on a triple to end the run.
• Down 35-26, Clark ended the half on a 7-0 run as Taylor hit a three-pointer and junior Ian Calabrese and McArdle added layups as the Cougars trailed 35-33 at the half.
• Clark took the lead early in the second half when Taylor connected on a three-pointer and another triple from Richard extended the Cougars edge to 42-40 with 16:20 to go.
• Richard pushed the edge to five with another three-pointer, but the Bears fought back to cut the deficit to three at 47-44 before Clark netted eight straight points as Pridgen added five and junior Ian Calabrese hit a three as the Cougars led 55-44.
• Saintilus scored nine of Clark's next 11 points as the Cougars extended the lead to 66-53 with 7:28 to go as Clark held the Bears scoreless over a two-minute stretch.
• Taylor went to the hoop and converted a contested layup to keep the lead at 12 at 70-58 with 4:57 remaining and the Cougars held the Bears to six points over the final five minutes as the scarlet and white came away with a 76-64 victory.

Inside the Box Score

• The Cougars grabbed 43 rebounds, dished out 17 assists, forced 13 turnovers, and shot 43.9% from the floor.
• Saintilus led the way with 26 points, eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and added four steals.
• Richard added 12 points, including a pair of three-pointers.
• McArdle also reached double-figures with 11 points and added eight rebounds.

What's Next
The scarlet and white will return to action on Tuesday night when they travel to Emerson for a NEWMAC road fixture beginning at 6:00 p.m.