WPI 87, Clark 74
Box Score
Worcester, MA --- The WPI men's basketball team kept its bid for
sole possession of first place in the New England Women's and Men's
Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) with an 87-74 victory over cross-town
rival Clark University at the Kneller Athletic Center on Wednesday
evening.
Clark, which dropped its second straight game, falls to 10-10
(5-3 NEWMAC). Winners of four straight, WPI improves to 16-5
and 7-1 in league play.
Four players scored in double figures for Clark. Junior
Peter Normandin (Westminster, MA) and sophomore
Mark Alexander (Providence, RI) paced the Cougars
with 14 points apiece. Sophomore Jack Minister
(Manchester, England) had 11 points and senior Pat
Landers (Worcester, MA) finished with 10 points. Normandin
grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
WPI's Jerome Kirkland (Boston, MA) led all
scorers with 25 points. Seniors Jim Marois
(Worcester, MA) and Ryan Bourque (Nashua, NH)
chipped in with 15 points each, while Antoine Coleman (Everett, MA)
added 13 points.
The visitors raced out to a 13-2 lead on six points from
Kirkland at the 15:33 mark. Clark used a 14-6 run capped by a
conventional three-point play from Landers to cut the deficit to
within three (16-19) and consecutive three's from Alexander and
Minister knotted the score at 22- with 8:46 remaining.
The score was tied two more times over the next 5:07 with the
last deadlock at 33-all on Normandin's baseline trey with 4:29 on
the clock. However, the Engineers rattled off 17 of the next 26
points to take a 50-42 halftime lead.
Clark kept it close in the opening minutes of the second
half. Pat Ochoa's (Springfield, MA.)
trifecta narrowed the visitors lead to just five (47-52) at
18:42. However, WPI engineered a 10-4 run with points from
five different players to push its margin to 63-51.
Clark closed the gap to five (63-68) on a string of three
pointers from Minster, who drained two, and Byron
Roberts (New Haven, CT), but could not contain WPI's
offensive arsenal. The Crimson and Grey pushed its lead up to
as many as 14 (80-66) with 3:12 remaining and held on for victory.
WPI, which shot 51.6% from the field, held a 41-31 advantage on
the glass. While Clark finished a solid 81% from the charity
stripe, they shot poorly from the floor (38.6%).
The Engineers swept the season series against Clark, also
winning 94-73 earlier this season.
Clark will host Springfield College on Saturday (1pm). WPI will
entertain the Pride next Wednesday (7pm).
Release Courtesy Clark Sports Information
