NEW LONDON, Conn.  – The Clark University men's basketball team (12-10, 7-6 NEWMAC) traveled to Coast Guard (7-14, 3-10 NEWMAC) and were bested 81-76 by the Bears on Saturday afternoon from Roland Gymnasium.

How it Happened

• The Cougars jumped out to an early 12-6 lead sparked by eight points from first-year Aliaun Iscandari as well as buckets from sophomores Kyle Squires and Boluwasefe John.
• After Coast Guard rattled off six unanswered points before Iscandari scored the next four points of the game and triples from both senior Reid Neumann and Iscandari to give the Cougars a 22-14 edge with 9:48 remaining.
• Junior Christopher Clarke and John netted Clark's next four points, but the Bears went on a 12-4 run to tie the contest at 26-26 with 6:32 to go in the first half.
• Coast Guard pushed their lead to as many as six, but Iscandari and Clarke each hit three-pointers to tie the game at 39-39 before Luke Farrell hit a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 41-39 edge heading into the locker room.
• The Bears opened the second half with nine unanswered points before Iscandari connected on a triple to cut the deficit to eight.
• Coast Guard pushed their lead to as many as 14 points before Squires and John scored the next four points of the contest to get back within 10 at 57-47 with 12:12 to play.
• John and Clarke traded buckets with the Bears before Iscandari hit a three-pointer and John made a layup as the Cougars trailed 65-58 with 8:55 remaining.
• Clark then went on a 9-2 run over the next four minutes sparked by three points from Squires, John, and Neumann to tie the contest at 67-67.
• Coast Guard rattled off nine of the next 15 points, with the six Clark points coming off a pair of triples from Squires as the Cougars trailed 76-73 with 2:54 to go.
• John and Matanmi made three free throws down the stretch as they kept it a one possession game with 0:20 remaining at 79-76, but Elijah Parent hit a pair of free throws as the Bears registered an 81-76 victory.

Inside the Box Score

• Clark made 25 shots, grabbed 33 rebounds, and dished out 17 assists, and forced 11 turnovers.
• Iscandari scored a team-high 25 points, connected on seven three-pointers, and dished out four assists.
• John added 21 points, eight made free throws, and eight rebounds.
• Squires also reached double-figures with 15 points and hit three triples.

What's Next
The Cougars will return to the court on Wednesday night when they welcome Wheaton to the Kneller for a contest beginning at 7:00 p.m.