WORCESTER, Mass. – Regis College rallied to create ties at the end of both the first half and the second half to force overtime, but a third comeback attempt fell short, as Clark University held on for an 88-81 overtime victory Saturday afternoon in a non-conference men's collegiate basketball game at the Kneller Athletic Center.
Ademola Afonja (Staten Island, N.Y.) shot 10-of-17 from the field as he scored a season-high 23 points, plus he pulled down six rebounds and earned three steals. Shawn Wedderburn (Bronx, N.Y.) notched a double-double with 18 points and 11 rebounds, and Jordan Seldon (Dorchester, Mass.) finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
Milik Wallace (Hinesville, Ga.) hit a three-pointer five minutes into the second half to give the Pride a 40-38 lead, but Clark responded with a 9-1 scoring run over the next three minutes to retake the lead, 47-41. The Cougars were still ahead by six late in the second half when Regis scored seven unanswered points, capped by a layup by Ademola, to pull ahead 66-65 with 2:41 remaining in regulation.
Clark rattled off seven straight points of its own over the next minute, punctuated by a traditional three-point play by Joel Arteaga, to establish a 72-66 advantage. However, the Pride closed out the half with a 7-1 scoring run, capped by an open three-pointer from the left corner by Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) with 9.2 seconds left on the clock, and Clark's attempt to win the game fell short, forcing an extra five-minute session.
Arteaga opened the overtime period with two three-pointers, and then Brendan Kittredge hit a fast-break layup to extend the Cougar lead to six at 81-75 with two minutes remaining. After Tyler Davern hit a three-pointer, Rosa and Seldon made three-point shots of their own to close the Pride deficit to three, but that would be as close as Regis would get, as Clark went 4-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 16 seconds to clinch the victory.
Davern shot 10-of-15 from the field as he led the Cougars with 23 points, plus he pulled down eight rebounds, while Kittredge went 10-of-16 in field goal attempts as he finished with 22 points and nine rebounds. Arteaga went 7-of-10 from the field, including 5-of-7 from behind the three-point line, as he earned a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Biko Gayman contributed 11 points, eight assists, and three steals.
Clark (3-5) scored the first five points of the game, but Regis responded with a layup by Wedderburn and a free throw from Afonja. The Cougars then scored 13 unanswered points, led by Davern with nine points, to open an 18-3 advantage midway through the first half.
After Gayman hit two shots to keep Clark ahead by double digits, Regis outscored the Cougars 14-3 in the final 3:33 of the first half. The Pride rattled off 10 unanswered points in the final two minutes, including three-pointers by Gibou Njie (Miramar, Fla.) and Michael Carucci (Suffield, Conn.), to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime, with Josh Germain (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) hitting a running jumper as time ran out to pull Regis even with Clark.
As a team, Regis shot 45.6 percent (31-of-68) from the field, including 7-of-16 from behind the three-point line, while Clark hit 47.9 percent (35-of-73) of its field goal attempts, including 9-of-28 from long distance. Each team hit only 60 percent of its free throw chances. The Pride won the rebounding battle, 49-37, including 15 offensive rebounds that led to 17 second chance points.
Regis (4-4) hosts Rhode Island College Monday, Dec. 3, starting at 6 p.m. at Higgins Court. It will be the last game for the Pride until after Christmas.