WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University men's basketball team (11-7, 7-2 NEWMAC) opened the second half of NEWMAC play with a home contest against Wheaton (9-9, 4-5 NEWMAC) and pulled away from the Lyons late with a 76-71 victory, while sweeping the season series on Saturday afternoon from the Kneller Gymnasium.

At halftime, Clark Athletics honored the 31 men's basketball players who have reached 1,000 career points with a banner displayed in the gym.

How it Happened

• Both offenses controlled the game early as Clark held a 7-5 lead less than three minutes in sparked by four points from senior Isaiah Taylor and a made triple from graduate student Jordan Richard.
• After Wheaton took a 10-9 edge, the Cougars responded with a 6-2 run led by a senior Kekoa McArdle layup and four points from senior Bruce Saintilus helped give Clark a 15-12 advantage with 13:09 left in the first half.
• Taylor and first-year Kyle Squires each connected on triples, with a sophomore Quentin Pridgen layup in between to help the Cougars keep the lead before Wheaton rattled off eight of the next 10 points to hold a 30-25 lead.
• Richard was able to hit a pair of triples before the half, including a three-pointer with 0:18 until the break to help the Cougars tie the contest at 33-33 heading into the locker room.
• Clark scored the first seven points of the second half led by baskets from Taylor, McArdle, and Saintilus and another McArdle layup with 15:03 remaining as the Cougars held a 44-37 advantage.
• Wheaton was able to cut into the deficit and tie the game at 50-50 despite points from senior Ian Calabrese, Saintilus, and first-year Boluwasefe John before Squires connected on a corner three to put Clark up three with 9:21 to play.
• The teams then traded baskets as Saintilus and Pridgen matched Sean Perri and Eoin Morrissey before a Perri triple gave the Lyons a 59-57 edge.
• The scarlet and white answered with four straight as McArdle made a layup and junior Reid Neumann slammed home a fastbreak dunk before an and-one from Sal Pedevillano gave Wheaton back the lead at 62-61 with 5:45 remaining.
• The teams continued to trade leads as McArdle, Tristan Herry, and Taylor all scored over a three-minute stretch before Richard buried a three-pointer off a feed from Pridgen to give the Cougars a 68-66 lead with 2:49 to play.
• After a layup from Morrissey, Pridgen answered on the next possession with a made layup of his own and a layup from Saintilus pushed Clark's lead to 72-69 with just over a minute to go.
• Clark's defense then forced three missed shots before a pair of Saintilus free throws pushed the edge to five, but Dimetri Iafrate scored with 0:16 to play to make it a 74-71 contest in favor of the Cougars.
• Richard iced the game with a pair of made free throws off the inbounds pass as the scarlet and white prevailed 76-71.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark made 29 shots, shot 56.9 percent from the floor, grabbed 32 rebounds, dished out 16 assists, and forced 12 turnovers.
• McArdle led the team with 16 points on 8-11 shooting and pulled down four rebounds.
• Saintilus added 15 points and a team-high seven assists.
• Richard (14) and Taylor (11) also reached double-figures.
• Pridgen tallied a team-leading nine rebounds and added eight points.

What's Next
The Cougars will be back in action on Wednesday night when they travel to Salve Regina for a NEWMAC contest beginning at 5:30 p.m.