BOX SCORE

DANBURY, CT (Dec. 12) — Senior DaQuan Brooks (Atlanta, GA) scored 23 of his game-high 34 points in the second half to lead the Western Connecticut State University men's basketball team to a come-from-behind 77-74 victory over Clark University Monday evening at Feldman Arena.

It took the Colonials, 10-1, 9:22 to battle back from a 15-point, 44-29, hole they fell in at intermission. They actually came back from a 21-point deficit following a pair of free throws from Clark's John Karas (South Glastonbury, CT) with 5:06 remaining in the first stanza.

Brooks buried one of his eight three pointers with 10:38 remaining in regulation to knot the score at 59-59 and capping off a 30-15 run for Western.

It appeared that the effort involved might have drained the Colonials' tank as the Cougars scored 13 of the games next 16 points to go back up by 10 points, 72-62 with 4:14 left.

Brooks canned what proved to be the game-winning bucket when he hit a long three to give Western a 75-74 lead with 21 seconds remaining.

Junior Michael Jensen (Gales Ferry, CT) scored eight of Western's final 15 points down the stretch including two free throws with 9.2 seconds remaining.

Western rushed out to a quick 5-0 lead behind a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by Brooks. 

Clark scored the next seven points however, taking a 7-5 lead at the 17:11 mark after a jumper by Tom Desautels (Manchester, CT). 

A three by senior Gary Robinson (Torrington, CT) gave the Colonials a three-point 15-12 lead, but the next nine minutes belonged to Clark, as the it went on a 28-4 run, for a 40-19 lead with five minutes remaining. 

Jensen hit two straight three pointers for Western to bring the Colonials back to within 15 points, and the margin remained 15 going into the locker room at intermission, with Clark leading 44-29.

Also scoring in double figures for Western were Robinson and Jensen with 14 points each. Jensen and freshman Louis Bridtter (Stamford, CT) hauled in a game-high five rebounds.

For Clark, now 6-4, Tucker Esborn (Branford, CT) led the way with 14 points while Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, MA) and Travis Curley (Trumbull, CT) added 13 and 12 points, respectively.

For the game, Western held a 32-25 advantage in rebounds.. 

Western finished shooting 44.1% from the floor, while the Cougars hit a respectable 54.9% including a blistering 58% in the first half facilitating the large advantage at the break.

The Colonials take a break for exams and the Holidays and return to action on Wednesday, December 28, when they travel to face WPI.  The afternoon tip off is scheduled for 2:00 pm.

NOTEWORTHY: DaQuan Brooks now has 1,590 career points and moves into fourth place on he Colonials all-time scoring list. On Monday night, he surpassed a pair of Western standouts from the early 1990 clubs, Paul Ellis (1990-94 - 1,579 points) and his uncle Lonnie Brooks (1990-94 - 1,578 points) DaQuan needs 224 points to become the all-time scorer, John Osborne (1963-67 - 1,813 points).

Newspaper Box Score

WESTERN CONNECTICUT 77, CLARK 74

CLARK (6-4)
Tucker Esborn 5-7 2-2 14; Mitch Renshaw 4-7 4-4 13; Travis Curley 4-9 2-2 12; Marcus Armstrong 4-6 0-0 9; DJ Bailey 4-6 0-0 8; Drew Billington 3-4 0-0 7; Tom Desautels 3-6 0-0 6; Brandyn Benson 1-2 0-0 3; John Karas 0-1 2-2 2; Marko Radovic 0-1 0-0 0; Jake Gubitose 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-51 10-10 74.

WESTERN CONNECTICUT (10-1)
DaQuan Brooks 12-26 2-3 34; Michael Jensen 4-7 2-2 14; Gary Robinson 5-8 0-0 14; Mark Redding 2-2 2-2 6; Ryan Pelletier 1-4 0-0 3; James Barnes 1-4 0-0 2; Ter'Qwan Perkins 0-1 2-2 2; Luis Bridtter 1-5 0-0 2; Michael Kennedy 0-2 0-0 0; Joseph Setaro 0-0 0-0 0; Mobilio 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-59 8-9 77.

Clark.........................   44   30  -   74
Western Connecticut...........   29   48  -   77

3-point goals--Clark 8-11 (Travis Curley 2-2; Tucker Esborn 2-3; Marcus Armstrong 1-2; Brandyn Benson 1-1; Drew Billington 1-1; Mitch Renshaw 1-1; Marko Radovic 0-1), Western Connecticut 17-33 (DaQuan Brooks 8-18; Michael Jensen 4-6; Gary Robinson 4-5; Ryan Pelletier 1-4). Fouled out--Clark-None, Western Connecticut-None. Rebounds--Clark 25 (DJ Bailey 5), Western Connecticut 32 (Ter'Qwan Perkins 5; Michael Jensen 5; Luis Bridtter 5). Assists--Clark 20 (Drew Billington 6), Western Connecticut 16 (DaQuan Brooks 9). Total fouls--Clark 11, Western Connecticut 15. Technical fouls--Clark-None, Western Connecticut-None. A-307