WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University men's basketball team (7-5, 3-0 NEWMAC) welcomed Babson (7-5, 1-2 NEWMAC) to the Kneller for their first NEWMAC game of the 2025 portion of their schedule on Wednesday night and held on after securing a first half lead as the Cougars recorded a 79-75 victory over the Beavers.

How it Happened

• The scarlet and white jumped out to an early 8-7 lead as senior Bruce Saintilus sparked the scoring with six points and a layup by fellow senior Kekoa McArdle gave the Cougars the edge.
• The Beavers responded with seven straight points as Felix Kloman and Jeremiah Paul each scored before a layup from senior Isaiah Taylor ended the run and a junior Reid Neumann jumper made it an 18-16 game with 7:36 remaining in the first half.
• After a pair of free throws from Nate Amado, McArdle made a pair of free throws and an and-one layup from Taylor helped the scarlet and white possess a 21-20 advantage with 5:39 to play in the half.
• The Cougars ended the half on an 8-4 run as Saintilus poured in six more points, including an and-one layup off a feed from senior Ian Calabrese and the other two Clark points came from first-year Boluwasefe John as the team took a 29-24 lead into the locker room.
• Babson opened the second half on a 7-2 run sparked by four points from Kloman before Clark scored 10 unanswered led by three points from McArdle and graduate student Jordan Richard as the Cougars held a 41-31 edge with 15:03 to play.
• After the Beavers responded with a 10-2 run of their own, first-year Kyle Squires connected on a three-pointer and a jumper from Taylor pushed the lead back up to four at 48-44.
• Babson rattled off four straight points, but Saintilus responded with five of Clark's next seven points and another triple from Richard with 7:13 to play gave the Cougars a 58-53 lead.
• Saintilus added the scarlet and white's next six points before a layup from McArdle helped extend the advantage to as many as 13 points at 68-55.
• A made free throw from Taylor helped give the Cougars a 71-61 advantage with 2:15 remaining, but Kloman netted the contests next four points and a layup from Calabrese helped Clark hang on to a 73-65 edge.
• Saintilus, Richard, sophomore Quentin Pridgen, and Taylor each made free throws down the stretch to help the scarlet and white secure a 79-75 victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark shot 50.9 percent from the floor, grabbed 42 rebounds, dished out 15 assists, and forced 12 turnovers.
• Saintilus poured in a career-high 28 points on 9-14 shooting, made seven free throws, and pulled down four rebounds.
• McArdle tallied his fifth double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds.
• Taylor added 13 points, a team-high eight assists, and pulled down six rebounds.

What's Next
Clark will return to the court on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Coast Guard for a NEWMAC contest against the Bears beginning at 1:00 p.m.