BRISTOL, R.I. – Clark University men's basketball (1-0) opened their season on the road at Roger Williams (0-1). The Cougars came out firing, building an early lead before withstanding a late Hawks push to secure a 74-67 win and start the season on a high note.

How it Happened

• Following a three-pointer by the Hawks to start the game, sophomore Boluwasefe John threw down a dunk to give Clark their first basket of the season.

• Senior Reid Neumann got in on the action, knocking down two threes in the span of a minute to jumpstart a 17-point run for the Cougars, which also featured first-year Elijah Small throwing down a dunk for his first collegiate points.

• After a free throw by the Hawks, Clark continued their run, with a layup by junior Quentin Pridgen pushing the lead to 21, 27-6.

• Roger Williams battled back, cutting the lead to eleven off an and-one layup by Finn Miller to make it 35-24.

• Another explosive Cougar run followed, with Neumann and Pridgen combining for ten straight points to extend the lead back to 21.

• The Hawks trimmed the deficit heading into halftime, trailing 48-30.

• Junior Malik Matanmi became the third Clark player to throw it down with a dunk early in the second half. Moments later, he hit a layup to make it 54-36 with 17:43 to play.

• Roger Williams continued their fight, going on a 9-0 run to cut the deficit in half over the next four minutes.

• After some back and forth, sophomore Kyle Squires hit a big three to extend the lead back to double digits, 60-49.

• The Hawks again responded, going on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to five—the smallest margin since the opening minutes of the first half.

• Small threw down his second dunk of the game with five minutes remaining, extending the lead to 66-60.

• Undeterred, Roger Williams cut the deficit to one possession, with a three-pointer by Ryan Hammarlund making it a two-point game with three minutes to play.

• A Pridgen layup and a John free throw extended the lead back to five. From there, Clark generated key stops, allowing only one more layup the rest of the way as they held on for the 74-67 win.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark made 24 shots, including seven from distance, while grabbing 55 rebounds, dishing out 11 assists, and blocking 11 shots.

• Pridgen led the way with 21 points on an efficient 7-9 from the field and 7-8 from the line. He added nine rebounds and a team-high four assists.

• Neumann tallied 17 points, knocking down five of the team's seven threes on 14 attempts. He also blocked two shots—his first multi-block game since January 2024.

• John also recorded two blocks, finishing just shy of a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds.

• Small impressed in his debut, finishing with eight points, 11 rebounds, and a team-high three blocks.

• First-years Trace Clark, Aliaun Iscandari, and David Fridia each recorded their first career points in the win.

What's Next

The Scarlet and White return to Worcester for their home-opener on Wednesday vs the University of Saint Joseph at 7:00 PM.