Springfield, Mass. - January 22, 2022 - The Springfield College men's basketball team battled their way to an 82-70 victory over Clark in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play in Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.

The Pride picked up its second conference win of the week to improve to 5-10, 3-3 against NEWMAC foes, while Clark dipped to 14-3, 3-3 in conference play.

Jacob Morales (Montvale, N.J.) netted a team-best 22 points, including 15 in the second half, to go along with seven rebounds and three steals, while Daryl Costa (Providence, R.I.) tallied 18 points and four helpers.  Nick Bray (Hartford, Conn.) tallied 16 points and eight rebounds and Justin Dunne (Derry, N.H.) protected the rim with eight blocks.   Springfield shot 26-for-53 (49%) for the game and knocked down 12-of-23 from beyond the arc and 18-of-23 from the charity stripe.  Despite giving up 21 offensive rebounds, Springfield's zone defense forced Clark in 46 three-pointers, which they made 11 of.

For the Cougars, Bruce Sainitlus scored a game-high 23 points and snagged 10 boards, while Isaiah Taylor registered 22 points, 20 of which came in the second half.   The Cougars had 26 more possessions than the Pride in the game, but were able to only shot 24-for-70 (30%) and committed 17 turnovers that turned in 19 Springfield points. 

It was a slow offensive start for both teams as the Pride held a 16-14 lead at the 7:52 mark, only to then pour on a 13-2 surge over the next four-plus minutes as Costa buried a triple to give the hosts a 29-16 cushion with 3:28 left in the frame.  The Cougars answered with a 9-2 spurt of their own, as Saintilus converted a three-point play with 1:30 on the clock to make it a 31-25 game.  The Pride would go into the break with a 34-27 lead, as Saintilus scored a game-high 17 points in 15 minutes of action for Clark. 

Springfield wasted little time seizing a 45-30 lead under two minutes into the second half following a fast-break triple from Morales.  Despite Clark pulling within 49-39 at 12:02 on a trifecta from Kolby Randolph, the hosts benefitted from a 11-2 surge to have its lead balloon to 60-41 with 8:55 following a putback by Morales.  Clark responded with 10-straight points in less than two minutes as Taylor banged back-to-back three points, but the Pride stayed the course and used a 12-3 surge that was finished off by five-straight points by Zeke Blauner (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.) as the lead once again hit 18 points with under four to play.  The visitors would get no closer than eight points as Springfield held on for the 12-point victory. 

On Wednesday, Springfield travels to Boston to face Emerson in a 7 pm conference showdown. 

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