Lyons drop 74-70 decision despite late comeback against Clark

NORTON, MA- Clark University held off a fierce Wheaton College comeback to pick up a 74-70 victory in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's basketball play on Saturday at Emerson Gymnasium. The Lyons, who trailed by 12 with 2:51 remaining, slipped to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in league play, while the Cougars improved to 9-5 and 1-1. The decision was the ninth straight between the teams decided by eight points or fewer.

Sophomore Brendan Degnan (Narragansett, RI/Bishop Hendricken) led the Lyons with a career-high 20 points, going 7-of-9 on free-throw tries, while junior Anthony Coppola (Watertown, MA/Watertown) added 19 points. Senior Ben Stehle (Newton, MA/Newton South) neared a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, and classmate Jaxon Leo (Leesburg, VA/New Hampton School) netted nine points. Wheaton shot 22-of-29 from the charity stripe, including 15-of-21 during the second half.

Clark sophomore Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, MA/Tantasqua Regional) led all scorers with 27 points, shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 at the free throw line, while snagging seven rebounds and helping the Cougars to a 40-21 advantage on the glass. Classmate Mitch Renshaw (Rutland, MA/Wachusett Regional) was 7-of-11 for 15 points and seven boards, while senior Mark Alexander (Providence, RI/Marianapolis Prep) turned in seven points, nine caroms and five assists. Classmate Slader Lydell (Portsmouth, RI/Portsmouth) added nine points.

Renshaw knocked down a three 39 seconds into the second frame to put Clark up 36-28, but Leo scored five straight points to begin a 7-0 Wheaton run. The visitors later made it 43-37 before Coppola hit a trey to cut the Lyon deficit to three, but the Cougars used an 11-1 stretch behind scoring from three players to push their lead to 54-41 by 9:48. Degnan's three-point play and an offensive board and putback by Stehle made it 56-48, but the visitors stretched their lead back out to 69-57 on a Renshaw dunk with 2:51 remaining before the Lyons staged a comeback.

Behind eight straight points, which included a 6-of-6 showing on free-throw tries, Wheaton rallied within 69-65 after Coppola buried a pair of freebies at 1:21. Clark made a three throw at 42 seconds before Stehle snagged a miss of the second try, and Leo found Degnan for a three with 27 ticks remaining that made it 70-68. After the Cougars again went up four, Degnan knocked down two freebies at 11.8 seconds to bring the Lyons within 72-70, but Vayda iced the win with a pair of free throws while 8.5 ticks were left.

Wheaton hit four of its first five tries, as four different players scored en route to the Lyons grabbing an 8-4 lead by 16:52 of the opening half. Clark countered with an 11-3 run, using six points from Vayda to forge a 15-11 advantage with 13:01 left. The Cougars started 4-of-5 from three-point range, pushing their lead to 23-17 before Coppola canned a three to make it 23-22 at 9:05.

However, Wheaton was held to just two points from there until the final 2:20, as Clark scored eight of the game's next 10 points to lead by as many as seven at 31-24 on freshman Tucker Esborn's (Branford, CT/Avon Old Farms School) jumper with 3:05 to go. Coppola scored four straight points to draw the Lyons within 31-28 at 1:44, but Vayda's bucket at 1:19 proved to be the final points of the half, and the Cougars carried a 33-28 edge into the locker room.

The Lyons head to the road on Wednesday, when they face Springfield College at 7:00 p.m.