SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Clark University men's basketball team (10-7, 6-2 NEWMAC) closed out the first half of NEWMAC play with a come-from-behind 69-54 victory after trailing at the half to Springfield (6-11, 3-5 NEWMAC) on Thursday night from Blake Arena. The Cougars held the Pride scoreless over the final 5:40 of play.

How it Happened

• Springfield jumped out to an early 10-4 lead before graduate student Jordan Richard and senior Ian Calabrese each buried triples to help pull the Cougars within two at 12-10 with 13:37 remaining in the first half.
• Senior Kekoa McArdle, senior Isaiah Taylor, and Calabrese combined for the scarlet and white's next six points before a triple from senior Bruce Saintilus made it a two-point game at 21-19 midway through the half.
• Junior Reid Neumann and sophomore Quentin Pridgen combined for five straight points as Clark took their first lead of the game at 26-25, but the Pride ended the first half on a 10-7 run despite a made triple from first-year Kyle Squires as the Cougars trailed 35-33.
• Taylor and McArdle scored the first four points of the second half to give Clark the edge before an and-one from Saintilus with 15:39 to play helped the Cougars take a 42-41 lead.
• The scarlet and white scored seven unanswered as Richard hit a triple and first-year Boluwasefe John made a pair of shots in the paint as Clark led 49-43.
• Taylor helped push the lead to seven with a transition layup and a jumper from Saintilus extended the edge to nine at 59-50 with 7:00 remaining.
• The Cougars and Pride then traded buckets over the next four minutes before Saintilus, Richard, and McArdle netted the final six points of the game as Clark prevailed 69-54.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark made 27 shots, shot 49.1 percent from the floor, grabbed 37 rebounds, dished out 11 assists, and recorded 10 steals.
• McArdle nearly recorded a double-double with 18 points on 8-13 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.
• Saintilus also reached double-figures with 14 points, while adding four steals and four rebounds.
• Richard and Taylor recorded eight points/three assists apiece.

What's Next
The scarlet and white will start the second half of their NEWMAC season on Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. when they host Wheaton. At halftime, members from the 1,000 point club will be recognized with a read and banners in the gym.