01/21/2009
Men's Basketball Drops Second Straight NEWMAC Game

WORCESTER, MASS. 01/21/09 - The Clark University men's basketball team suffered its second straight New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) setback with a 75-67 loss to Wheaton College on Wednesday night at the Kneller Athletic Center.

The Cougars dipped to 9-7 overall and 3-2 in league play. Winners of four straight, Wheaton raised its record to 11-6 (3-1 NEWMAC).

Senior Peter Normandin (Westminster, Mass.) scored 16 points and had eight rebounds, and Mark Alexander (Providence, R.I.) had 15 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead Clark. The junior forward became the 24th Clark men's basketball player to reach the milestone after hitting his first of two free throws at the 1:25 mark of the second half. Freshman Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass.) finished with 11 points and five boards.

Sophomore Anthony Coppola (Watertown, Mass.) topped Wheaton with a game-high 19 points and three assists. Freshman Bruno Taylor (Los Angeles, Cali.) chipped in with 12 points.

Trailing by eight points (61-69) following a freebie by Anthony Weeks (Fitchburg, Mass.) with 46 seconds left to play, Clark refused to give up. The Cougars outscored the Lyons 6-2, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Slader Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I.) and Jack Minister (Manchester, England), over the next 15 seconds to trim the deficit to within, 71-67. But Wheaton, which finished the game with a 61.8 percent clip from the line, sank half of its free-throw attempts (4-for-8) down the stretch to secure the victory.

Vayda's lay-up gave Clark its final lead (10-9) of the game midway through the first half. Each team then compiled a pair of runs, but the visitors' held on to take a 31-26 edge into the locker rooms.

Back-to-back three's by Mark Sullivan (West Roxbury, Mass.) gave the Lyons a 10-point (22-12) advantage with 8:51 remaining in the half, but Clark responded with a 7-0 spurt to pull within 22-19 at 6:41.

Wheaton answered, outscoring the hosts' 6-3 with a pair of three-pointers from Weeks and Coppola to grab a six-point margin (28-22) with 3:28 remaining. After lay-ups from Jonathan Phillips (Shrewsbury, Mass.) and Alexander brought Clark within two (26-28), Wheaton scored the final three points of the half for the five-point halftime advantage.

Wheaton shot 54.5 percent (12-for-22) in the first half, and 53.5 percent for the game, while Clark finished with a 45.5 percent shooting clip.

Both teams will be back in action on Saturday. Clark will host MIT at 3 p.m., while Wheaton will entertain WPI at that same time.