Worcester, Mass – January 20, 2026 – Clark University defeated the Springfield College men's basketball team, 79-71, in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) play inside the Kneller Athletic Center on Tuesday evening.

Clark improved to 10-7 overall and finished its first round of NEWMAC play at 5-3, while Springfield dropped to 5-11 and 3-4 in the conference with one game left before starting its second round of NEWMAC contests.

Josiah Evely (Toronto, Ontario) recoded the sixth 20 point game of his career this evening for the Pride as he went a perfect 8-for-8 at the free throw line and buried five shots from the floor, He also added six rebounds, two assists and a steal. Ajay Lopes (Wareham, Mass.) notched a career-high 14 points, while Josh Hartley (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action.

Clark, which saw three student-athletes pour in double-digit point totals highlighted by a 20 spot by Boluwasefe John, has now defeated Springfield in eight straight contests dating back to the 2022 season.

Springfield held Clark without a made field goal for the first 4:37 of the game when Reid Neumann knocked down a corner three off a feed from John for a 10-7 lead. Minutes later, a layup from Hartley sparked a run of six straight points for Springfield as the Pride regained a 17-14 edge. The two teams traded 8-2 runs over the next five minutes of the game before four straight points including a layup in transition by Rashard Samuels (Upper Marlboro, Md.) extended Springfield's lead to 31-26. Clark, however, received three point buckets from both Quentin Pridgen and Neumann before a layup from John pushed the Cougars ahead 36-35 at the break.

John knocked down a layup 90 seconds into the second half, which gave Clark a lead it wouldn't relinquish for the remainder of the contest. The hosts outscored Springfield 14-7 over a stretch of four minutes early in the second and eventually built the lead to as many as nine, 54-45, following a pair of free throws from Pridgen. Springfield pulled within four late in the game on a layup from Hartley, but Clark outscored the Pride 9-5 over the final three minutes to secure the 79-71 final.

Springfield shot 42.3-percent from the floor and tied its season-high free throw percentage of 82.8-percent going 24-for-29 at the charity stripe. Clark held a 37-33 edge on the glass, while Springfield turned 16 Clark turnovers into 18 points. 

Springfield will wrap up its first trip through conference play at Emerson College on Thursday night at 7:00 pm.

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