Men’s Basketball: AMCATS Clipped by Clark, 94-86

Worcester, Mass. – Clark University used, crisp passing, excellent shooting and a 27-point performance from Nicholas DaPrato (Marshfield, Mass.) to outgun visiting Anna Maria, 94-86 in non-league men's basketball action on Tuesday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.

With the win, the Cougars improve to 5-1 for the first time since 1992-93 and extend their winning streak over the AMCATS to eight in a row. Anna Maria, meanwhile, slips to 1-3 overall despite a balanced scoring attack that saw five players reach double figures.

Clark, who topped the 90-point barrier for the first time since a season-opening win over Fitchburg State in the 2009-10 campaign, had a season-best 22 assists attached to their 31 baskets.

The game started out close with both seemingly scoring with ease when the Cougars went on a 13-4 run to take a 34-24 lead as DaPrato, Andrew Musler (Belmont, Mass.) and Marcus Armstrong (Malden, Mass.) all had inside finishes during the stretch.

Clark's advantage remained in double figures as the half wound down and peaked at 14 on a couple of occasions, the last time coming on a DaPrato steal and fastbreak finish that made the score 47-33 at the half.

After the Cougar advantage ballooned to 17 at 57-40 on a Lucas LaLima (Colts Neck, N.J.) drive and hoop, Anna Maria went on a run of their own, scoring nine unanswered points, highlighted by a Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) triple and a Quantez Franklin (South Yarmouth, Mass.) conventional three-point play.

Clark answered back with six straight points as star reserve Conor Dow (Needham, Mass.) made three-pointers on consecutive possessions to bump the score to 63-49 with a little more than 15 minutes left to play.

Over the next several minutes the teams traded baskets as Franklin was in control on the interior for the AMCATS, scoring their next eight points, while Clark scored some easy baskets of their own, none prettier than LaLima's no-look dish to a cutting Lamar Berk (Saint Augustine, Fla.) that made the score 67-53.

Anna Maria worked the lead down to 78-69 on a pair of Delorey free throws, but a hoop from David Mercier (Milford, Mass.) and free throws from Musler gave the Cougars some breathing room at 82-69 with less than six to play.

To their credit, the AMCATS would not go away and after a Musler three-point play made the score 85-71 at the 4:51 mark, Anna Maria got hoops from

Delorey, Daye and Trevon Farley (Lawrence, Mass.) and free throws from Joe Barillo (Dania Beach, Fla.) to get as close as they had been since the first half at 87-80 with exactly 2:00 to play.

Barillo scored again to make it 89-85 with one minute to play, but the Cougars, who actually struggled from the free throw line for most of the night, went 5-for-6 in the final 30 seconds to seal the win.

Both teams ended up shooting the ball extremely well with Anna Maria connecting on 54 percent of their attempts (31-for-58), while Clark went 31-of-63 (49 percent).

In an incredibly efficient performance, Barillo came off the bench to post 27 points in just 26 minutes. He added seven boards and went 11-for-13 from the free throw line.

Franklin, meanwhile, didn't miss a shot, going 7-for-7 from the field en route to 15 points in his 17 minutes of action before fouling out. Delorey finished with 14 points, while both Hugh Daye (Worcester, Mass.) and Farley each chipped in with ten.

DaPrato added a career-high seven assists, four rebounds and four steals to his 27-point performance, while Musler was a force inside, totaling 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Dow continued his excellent play off the bench, adding 11 points and Armstrong registered nine points and six boards.

Anna Maria is next in action on Thursday, December 5 when they take on the nation's No. 1 team in Amherst College.

Release courtesy of Clark Sports Information Department