Clark Claws Past Hawks In Thriller
Leicester, Mass. - Clark University defeated Becker College for the 5th straight time, with a trilling 65-64 win in men's basketball action.
In the first half, Becker jumped out to a 26-16 lead before the Cougars went on a 9-0 run. The Hawks refused to squander their lead, taking a 38-35 advantage into halftime. Peter Normandin (Westminster, Mass.) led the Cougars with 9 points in the first half. DJ Exum (New London, Conn) and Terrance Favors (Boston, Mass) led the Hawks with 10 points each.
In the second half, the Hawks jumped out to a 7 point lead on a Trey Jacobs (Lexington Park, MD) layup, before the Cougars went on an 8-0 run to take their first lead of the game 45-44. The Cougars went ahead 44-47, before Mike Massey (New Haven, Conn) scored on back to back shots, putting the Hawks in front 48-47. The Hawks held a 55-54 lead with 9:20 remaining until Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, Mass) nailed a three pointer, putting the Cougars up 56-54. Once again, Becker soared back with a 5-0 run. The seesaw battle continued until the very end. The Hawks held a 64-63 advantage with 40 seconds remaining. The Cougars slowly took the ball down the court, trying to minimize the time the Hawks would have to answer. Chris LoPiano (Franklin Square, NY) missed his three point attempted, but Jack Minister (Manchester, England) got the rebound, laying it up for the 65-64 lead. With 4 seconds remaining, the Hawks turned over their inbound attempt, and Clark escaped with the 65-64 victory.
Clark's Brain Vayda finished the game with 14 rebounds and 10 points, to earn the double-double. Peter Normandin led the cougars on offense with 16 points. Mark Alexander (Providence, RI) added 13 points in the winning effort. The cougars improved to 1-1. Mike Massey and Terrance Favors led the Hawks with 14 points each. DJ Exum added 11 points in the losing effort. The Hawks fall to 1-2 on the year.
