Springfield, Mass. - January 10, 2018 - The Springfield College men's basketball team produced a season-best 101 points to storm past Clark University, 101-63, in a New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest on Wednesday afternoon in Blake Arena.
Springfield is now 8-6, 2-1 in conference play, while the loss sends Clark's record to 3-11, 0-3.
Today's game was played as a 12 pm matinee, as Springfield College hosted more than 300 Springfield students from including Lincoln Elementary School, Elias Brookings Elementary School, and William N. DeBerry Elementary School, and provided them the opportunity to learn while watching a collegiate basketball game.
Springfield's offense put on quite the show for those in attendance, as the Pride shot 38-for-64 (59%), totaled 30 assists, and drilled a program-record 16 three-pointers in the game, eclipsing the previous total of 15 that was last set in Jan. 21, 2015 against Coast Guard. The Pride finished the game with seven student-athletes scoring in double figures, led by Trey Witter's (Unionville, Conn.) 19 points. Andy McNulty (West Springfield, Mass.) scored 17 points and handed out five assists, while Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) had his ninth double double of the year, registering 15 points and 11 boards. Additionally, Cam Earle (South Hadley, Mass.), Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.), and Kevin Durkin (Worcester, Mass.) each netted 11 points and Ben Diamond (New York, N.Y.) pitched in a career-high 10 points.
It marked the first time that Springfield College has eclipsed the 100-point plateau since totaling 109 points in a win over Penn State New Kensington on December 1 at the Carnegie Mellon Doubletree Invitational.
Clark had 14 different players play at least seven minutes, with Luca McCormick tallying a team-best 10 points. Tyler Davern, Biko Gayman, and Adam Converse each totaled eight points as the Cougars finished the game shooting 24-for-57 (42%).
The Pride connected on their first three shots of the game to jump out to a 7-3 lead at the 18:08 mark after Earle cashed in on a trifecta. The Cougars would knot the contest at 15 on a three-pointer by McCormick with 13:57 on the clock, only to have another triple from the right wing by Earle at the 11:27 mark give Springfield a 25-18 cushion. After Clark would climb within 33-27 on a bucket inside by Gayman with 4:30 remaining, the Pride's offense caught fire and closed out the stanza on a 17-6 push. A three from Witter would give Springfield a 21-point edge, but a three by Patrick Bugler at the horn made it a 50-32 ball game at the half. Springfield shot 61% from the floor and outscored the visitors 26-6 in the paint in the opening 20 minutes of play.
A free throw from Gayman would pull Clark within 15 at 58-43 with 13:53 left in regulation, but Springfield erupted for a 16-0 run over the next four-plus minutes, burying four three-pointers, including a pair by Witter, to take a commanding 31-point advantage at 74-43. Witter drilled Springfield's 10th three-pointer of the half with 1:18 remaining to give the hosts a 100-60 lead.
Springfield will now begin a three-game road swing, beginning on Saturday when it heads into Boston to face Emerson for a 1 pm contest.