WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University men's basketball team (14-8, 10-3 NEWMAC) traveled to Emerson (9-12, 4-8 NEWMAC) and dropped the contest 92-81 to the Lions on Saturday afternoon from the Brown and Plofker Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• Emerson jumped out to an early 9-6 lead despite four points from senior Kekoa McArdle and two from senior Bruce Saintilus before a jumper from Jacob Armant pushed the Lion lead to five.
• First-year Boluwasefe John and Saintilus combined for the Cougars next four points before a three-pointer from junior Reid Neumann cut the deficit down to four at 19-15 with 9:14 remaining in the first half.
• Neumann buried his second triple of the half and a McArdle layup brought Clark within one before Emerson scored four straight, but Saintilus buried a triple to make it a 25-23 contest.
• First-year Kyle Squires hit a three-pointer to bring Clark within one at 29-28, but Emerson ended the half on a 9-3 run despite a made triple from senior Ian Calabrese as the Lions took a 38-31 lead into the break.
• McArdle and senior Isaiah Taylor combined for Clark's first six points of the second half, but a triple from Lucas Brenner pushed Emerson's advantage to double-digits at 50-37.
• Clark rallied with an 8-0 run as graduate student Jordan Richard and sophomore Quentin Pridgen each hit three-pointers and a layup from McArdle made it a 50-45 contest with 15:18 to play.
• The teams then traded buckets over the next three minutes as Saintilus netted four and Pridgen added two before an and-one layup from Saintilus pulled Clark within four at 58-54.
• Calabrese then got fouled shooting a three and buried all three free throws before a layup from McArdle brought the Cougars within two in a 63-61 ballgame with 10:16 remaining.
• Richard and Pridgen each buried triples to give the Cougars their first lead of the game at 67-66, but the Lions scored six straight before Saintilus ended the run with a made layup as Emerson led 72-69.
• John made a dunk and a layup over the next two minutes, but the Lions went on a 13-4 run to push their advantage to 12 with 2:57 to go.
• Saintilus made a pair of free throws and Richard hit two three-pointers to cut the deficit to seven at 88-81 with 0:52 remaining, but Emerson hit four free throws down the stretch to win 92-81.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark made 30 shots, grabbed 30 rebounds, dished out 23 assists, and forced 12 turnovers.
• Saintilus led the way with 19 points, eight assists, and grabbed four rebounds.
• McArdle tallied his eighth double-double of the season, tallying 18 points and 11 rebounds.
• Richard netted 12 points and buried four three-pointers.

What's Next
The scarlet and white is set to welcome No. 17 WPI to the Kneller for their second matchup of the season on Wednesday night beginning at 7:00 p.m.