NORTON, Mass. – The Clark University (Mass.) men's basketball team was 18-33 from three-point range, including 14 made triples in the first half, to give the Cougars a 100-85 victory over host Wheaton College (Mass.) this evening in the New England Women's & Men's Athletic Conference opener at Emerson Gymnasium on the Wheaton campus in Norton, Mass.
The Lyons dip to 4-5 overall and 0-1 in league play, while Clark wins its third straight to improve to 4-3 and 1-0.
The Cougars shot 58.3% (14-24) from long range in the first half, en-route to a 15-point halftime lead that held for the winning margin. Clark nearly shot better from three-point range than within the arc, hitting 54.5% of its long distance attempts as part of a 55.6% (35-63) overall shooting effort. The Cougars capitalized on 18 Wheaton turnovers, owning a 19-6 margin in points off miscues, while holding a 36-27 rebounding advantage. The Lyons shot 45.2% (28-62) for the game and were 21-24 (87.5%) from the line to help them match their guests' total of 48 points in the second half.
Junior guard Tristan Herry (East Taunton, Mass.) poured in a game and career-high 30 points on 8-13 shooting, including 4-8 from three and was also 10-12 from the line. He added two rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals to his night for Wheaton. Sophomore guard Dimetri Iafrate (Johnston, R.I.) was 7-12 from the field and netted 16 points to go with four assists, three rebounds, a trio of steals and a blocked shot, while junior forward Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal.
Senior guard Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) registered a double-double of 20 points and 11 assists to lead all playmakers and added two rebounds, a steal and a block for Clark. Sophomore guard Quentin Pridgen (Fitchburg, Mass.) netted 16 points on 6-10 from the floor, including 4-7 from three-point territory, in addition to handing out five assists, coming up with five steals and grabbing a pair of rebounds. Senior forward Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) was 6-10 from the field to score 12 points to go with 11 boards for a conventional double-double and added five assists as one of four Cougars to dish for five or more assists in the game. Graduate student guard Jordan Richard (Lawrence, Mass.) contributed with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and a blocked shot.
The Lyons never led in the game, but knotted the score at 4-4 after an Iafrate layup at the 18:14 mark of the first half. Clark proceeded to put on a clinic in long range shooting, hitting six of seven three-point field goal attempts to fuel an 18-3 run over the next three and a half minutes and take a 22-7 advantage with 14:44 showing on the first half clock.
Wheaton never recovered and the Cougars continued to knock down trifectas. Clark maintained a 33-17 cushion at 10:04, following a triple from first year guard Kyle Squires (Kingston, Mass.), who was one of six Cougars to stick multiple three-balls in the game.
The Lyons ripped off six unanswered points, including a trey from Herry to pull the home team within 33-23 with 8:03 left in the opening half. Back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Ian Calabrese (Simsbury, Conn.) and junior guard Reid Neumann (Burbank, Calif.) bumped Clark's lead to 39-23 at the 6:15 mark, before Wheaton closed to within 39-28 less than two minutes later on a jumper from Morrissey.
The Lyons kept the margin at 41-30 with just over three minutes to play in the half, but the Cougars put together an 11-4 stretch to give them their largest lead of the half at 52-34 with 42 ticks left in the session.
Morrissey drilled a three-ball for Wheaton to cut the halftime deficit to 52-37.
Wheaton inched closer at 54-41 after a pair of free throws from Morrissey with 18:14 remaining the game, before Clark boasted its largest margin of the game at 72-50 after first year forward Boluwasefe John (Corona, N.Y.) delivered the exclamation point with a dunk at the 13:16 mark of the half.
The Lyons showed some life with an 11-2 run, backed by five points from junior guard Sal Pedevillano (Parsippany, N.J.) and four from Herry, to cut the difference to 74-61 with 10:15 left in the contest. Wheaton stayed within 83-71 after a fast-break layup from Iafrate at the 4:40 mark, but the Cougars scored nine of the next 11 points to extend their advantage to 92-73 with 2:15 showing on the second half clock. The Lyons got no closer than within 14 for the rest of the game.
Clark returns to the court on Saturday, December 7 when it hosts NEWMAC foe Salve Regina University at 1:00 p.m., while Wheaton travels to Cambridge, Mass. to take on league rival Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a 2:00 p.m. tip-off.
