Cougars Pull Away from Owls, 89-77

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State junior guard Lid Moreland (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored a team-high 17 points, but Clark used a strong second half to push past the Owls 89-77 on the road Saturday afternoon from Worcester, Mass.

The Owls suffer their first loss of the season against a Division III opponent, falling to 4-2 overall. The Cougars improve to 6-1 on the year.

Moreland jumpstarted the Owls offense on the afternoon, forcing a Clark turnover then converting in transition on the other end to open up a four-point lead in the early stages. Then after a Cougars miss, Moreland fed a pass to Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) on the fast break with his layup putting the Owls up 10-5 with 16:46 left in the first half.

Midway through the half, the Cougars used a mini six-point scoring burst to claim a one-point lead before Xavier Lewis (Wheatley Height, N.Y.) buried a three to give the Owls the lead again. Andre Hairston (Long Island, N.Y.) followed by scoring a layup through contact, completing the three-point play with a free throw, then connecting on a jumper on the ensuing Owls possession to up the Westfield lead to seven points (23-16) with 10:43 left in the half.

Clark chipped away at the deficit, tying the game after a 7-0 scoring run of their own with Isaiah Taylor (Methuen, Mass.) converting a layup after an Owls turnover. The Cougars entered the halftime break with a slim two-point advantage, 41-39.

In the second half, a pair of Cougar layups pushed the Clark lead to six points as Bruce Saintilus (Plainville, Mass.) added a free throw after scoring through contact, putting the Owls behind by seven. Westfield once again answered with a five-point burst from Kuany Teng (Manchester, N.H.) punctuating a 7-0 Owls run to tie the game at 48 with 16:48 remaining in the game.

Both teams traded buckets until Clark gained a four-point lead with 11:13 to play. The Cougars then opened up a double-digit lead in a span of 48 seconds with Ian Calabrese (Simsbury, Conn.) and Taylor hitting consecutive three pointers to bring the Clark lead to ten points. The game hovered around a double-digit margin with the Owls getting no closer than seven points in the stretch run. Clark outscored the Owls 48-38 in the second half.

Moreland (17 points) and Hamilton (12 points) were the Owls lone double figure scorers. Juju Omot (Springfield, Mass.) followed with nine points. Hamilton grabbed a team-high nine rebounds while Omot added five assists.

The Cougars tandem of Kekoa McArdle (Pittsfield, Mass.) and Taylor combined for 44 points with McArdle leading all scorers with 23 points on an efficient 10-13 shooting from the field. Overall, Clark shot a blistering 52.5% from the floor (32-61) including 62.96% shooting in the second half.

Westfield State will remain on the road in their next game as the Owls travel to seventh-ranked Keene State College on Monday at 7:00 P.M.