Men’s Basketball Drops Back-And-Forth Contest with Clark

WORCESTER, Mass. – The Wentworth Institute of Technology men's basketball team fell to undefeated Clark University Thursday afternoon, as the Cougars pulled away late to take an 82-72 victory on the second day of the 2021 Clark University Alumni Holiday Invitational.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

LEADING SCORERS:  Trey Carrier, 17; Kevin Fernandez, 17
LEADING REBOUNDERS:  Trey Carrier, 14; Thomas Hacker, 8
ASSIST LEADERS:  Kevin Fernendez, 7; Tommy Dooling, 3

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After senior guard Kevin Fernandez (Lawrence, Mass.) gave the Leopards the lead in the opening moments, Clark immediately went on the attack. The Cougars rolled off 11 straight points, including three from both Tyler Davern and Bruce Saintilius to take an 11-2 lead. Wentworth then answered back with seven straight of their own, capped off by a three pointer from junior forward Thomas Hacker (Averill Park, N.Y.) to pull the visitors to within two points.
• A basket by freshman forward Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) and another three, this time from junior guard Tommy Dooling (Mansfield, Mass.) gave Wentworth the lead, but Clark tied things at 14-14 just past the midway point of the first half. The teams traded baskets for the next several minutes until a three pointer from Davern gave Clark a one point lead with five minutes remaining.
• With the Leopards holding a two point lead late in the half, Davern hit another three to put the Cougars back on top, but junior guard Sam Swift (Arlington, Mass.) hit a three of his own in the final seconds, putting Wentworth ahead 33-32 going into halftime.
• The Leopards built the lead up to seven points in the early stages of the second half, as carrier put in a pair of baskets, including a three. Holding a 46-40 lead with seven minutes gone by, Fernandez converted an and-one opportunity to give Wentworth it's biggest lead of the game at nine points. Clark then scored eight unanswered, as four different Cougar players got on the scoreboard over a span of 1:33 to get within a point.
• A shot from beyond the arc by Dooling and a pair of free throws from Stewart put the Leopards up by six at the midway point of the half, with Clark again answering and getting within a point at 54-53. After the Leopards pushed the lead to three points, the Cougars' Isaiah Taylor scored four straight points to put Clark ahead with seven minutes remaining. Swift then connected on a three, which was countered with a layup from Clark to knot the score at 59.
• Four points from Fernendez were met by Wilson, who scored eight straight Cougar points, including two three pointers, to put the home team ahead by four with four minutes remaining. Two more Cougar players made baskets in the following minute to push the lead to eight, and Wentworth was never able to close the gap. Clark matched them point for point the rest of the way, going on to pick up an 82-72 win.

SERIES NOTES:

• Today was the sixth time the programs have met, with Clark holding a 5-1 series lead.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth returns to conference play Jan. 4 with a 7:30 p.m. road matchup at Salve Regina University.

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