WORCESTER, Mass. -- Junior guard Marckenley Lima (Roslindale, Mass.) scored 25 points to lead the Wheaton College (Mass.) men's basketball team in an 84-70 loss at Clark University this evening in a New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference contest at Kneller Athletic Center in Worcester, Mass. The Lyons dip to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in league play, while the Cougars improve to 14-1 and 3-1.

Clark shot 47.5 (29-61) from the floor and took advantage of 25 Wheaton turnovers, owning a 28-12 margin in points off turnovers. The Lyons were outstanding at the free throw line, converting 25 of 28 attempts for an 89.3% clip.

Lima was perfect from the line for Wheaton, sinking all 10 free throws and also added three rebounds, an assist and a career-best five steals. Junior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) scored 16 points for the fifth time in a game this season to match his season-high in addition to eight rebounds and an assist. First year forward Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) came off the bench to contribute with 11 points, two rebounds and an assist.

First year guard Isaiah Taylor (Lawrence, Mass.) led the Cougars with 23 points on 8-12 from the field to go with five rebounds, two assists and four steals. Sophomore guard Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) netted 15 points, grabbed five boards, handed out three assists, came up with five steals and blocked a shot, while graduate student forward Tyler Davern (Webster, Mass.) chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds, two assists, a pair of steals and three blocks.

Clark scored the first seven points of the game, en-route to a 10-2 start, led by five points from graduate student guard Biko Gayman (Fort Pierce, Fla.). The Lyons closed to within 14-7 at the 14:24 mark of the first half, but a 17-7 stretch, fueled by six points from Davern, gave the home team a 31-14 lead with seven minutes to play in the opening session. Wheaton countered with an 8-4 burst to cut the deficit to 4:58 and stayed within 40-27 after a Lima trifecta at 3:30 of the first half. The Cougars closed out the half with a 9-2 run to take a 49-29 lead into the break.

The Lyons came out of the intermission with new energy, scoring the first eight points of the half, including three-pointers from Lima and first year guard Ty Murphy (Dedham, Mass.), to pull to within 49-37 with 18:43 to go in the second stanza. 

Clark nearly restored their halftime margin and owned a 62-43 cushion at the 14:21 mark, before Wheaton ripped off another stretch of eight straight points, including six from Cook, to make it 62-51 at 11:33. A Cook lay-up later pulled the Lyons to within 69-59 with 7:06 to play in the game. It was as close as they would come, before the Cougars put together a 15-3 run, capped by a lay-up from sophomore guard Mikey O'Brien (New York, N.Y.), to give Clark its largest lead of the night at 84-62 with 1:49 remaining in the contest.

Wheaton scored the final eight points of the game, including six from Lima to set the final at 84-70.

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, January 19 when they host NEWMAC rival Emerson College at 8:00 p.m. in their first game of the New Year at Emerson Gymnasium, while the Cougars head across town on the same night to take on No. 19 Worcester Polytechnic Institute at 7:00 p.m.