WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Clark University men's basketball team (1-2) traveled to Westfield for their first game of the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Classic when they took on Albertus Magnus (1-2) and dropped the contest 82-72 to the Falcons on Friday night from the Woodward Center.
How it Happened
- First-year Aliaun Iscandari and senior Reid Neumann combined for Clark's first five points of the game as Iscandari made a layup and Neumann connected on a triple as the Cougars trailed 6-5.
- Junior Quentin Pridgen then connected on an and-one layup and junior Emmett Hendry buried a triple off a feed from sophomore Boluwasefe John as the Falcons held a 13-11 lead with 14:06 to go in the first half.
- Neumann hit his second three-pointer of the half and layups from Iscandari and John kept the Cougars within two, but Albertus went on a 9-3 run despite three made free throws from junior Christopher Clarke.
- Pridgen and John combined for the Cougars final seven points of the half and a Pridgen three-pointer from the corner off a feed from junior Malik Matanmi helped cut the deficit to nine at 39-30 heading into the locker room.
- Sophomore Kyle Squires scored off a rebound to open the second half to bring Clark within seven and buckets from both first-year Octavius Wheeler and Matanmi helped keep the deficit at seven as the Falcons led 45-38.
- With 12:30 to play, Neumann connected on another triple off a feed from Pridgen to bring Clark back within five and Clarke netted the Cougars next five points to keep it a five-point game at 54-49.
- John scored four of the Cougars next 10 points as Iscandari and Neumann each added three more as they traded points with Isaiah Earl and Jayquan Kirkland of the Falcons to make it a 64-59 game with 6:56 remaining.
- Albertus Magnus proceeded to go on a 9-2 run before John threw down a slam off a pass from Iscandari to cut the deficit to 10 at 73-63 with 4:24 to play.
- John made a pair of free throws to pull back within eight, but Earl and DJ Victory scored the next five points and before the end of the contest, Iscandari and John each scored, but the Falcons walked away with an 82-72 victory.
Inside the Box Score
- Clark made 26 shots, grabbed 35 rebounds, dished out 13 assists, and forced 13 turnovers.
- Iscandari scored 16 points on 7-11 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
- Neumann also added 16 points sparked by four made three-pointers.
- John netted 15 points, pulled down six rebounds, and tallied four steals.
- Pridgen nearly registered a double-double with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds.
What's Next
The Cougars will return to the court tomorrow when they compete against the College at Old Westbury in their final game of the Rick Martin/Hampton Inn Classic beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the campus of Westfield State.
