01/09/2009
Minister Leads Men's Basketball Past Coast Guard, 74-64

WORCESTER, MASS. 01/10/09 - Junior Jack Minister (Manchester, England) tied a career-high with 23 points and grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds to lead Clark University to a 74-64 victory over Coast Guard Academy in a men's basketball New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) game held Saturday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

Minister was almost perfect, hitting seven of his eight shots from the field, five of six from three-point land, and four of five from the charity stripe. Junior Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) had 15 points, nine boards and six assists and senior Peter Normandin (Westminister, Mass.) finished with 11 points and nine rebounds to lead the Cougars (8-5, 2-0 NEWMAC).

Senior forward Craig Johnson (Medford, Ore.) netted a game-high 26 points and five rebounds for Coast Guard (7-5, 0-2 NEWMAC). Freshman Theo Jensen (Doylestown, Pa.) contributed with 13 points, while sophomore Jevon James (St. Thomas, Virgin Islands) blocked five shots.

The Bears took a seven point lead (18-11) on a layup by Johnson at 8:51 of the first half. However, Clark drained six three-pointers, including three straight from Minister, over the next 7:05 to take a 39-28 advantage into the break.

Minister had 13 first half points for Clark. Johnson led Coast Guard with 12 points in the half.

The Bears opened the second half on an 11-2 run to trail by two (39-41) on a trey from Brett Huntley (Massena, N.Y.) just 3:41 into the period and later took their first lead (58-57) since midway through the first half on a trifecta from Eric Hudson (Pasadena, Cali.) with 8:42 remaining.

Clark rallied with its long-range game to get back in front. Alexander's transition basket sandwiched by a pair of three's gave the hosts a 65-61 lead at 6:03.

Coast Guard's Jensen made it interesting when he capitalized on three freebies after being fouled in three-point territory for a 67-64 deficit. However, Minister drained his fifth and final three of the day to push the Cougars' back up to 70-64, and the hosts converted at the free-throw line down the stretch for the win.

While Coast Guard shot 49 percent from the field to Clark's 43.3 percent, the Cougars connected on 11 of 23 (47.8%) from behind the arc. CGA hit just six of 21 three-point attempts.

Clark will host Springfield College on Wednesday (5 p.m.). Coast Guard will play at Connecticut College on Monday (7 p.m.).