Salem State College Athletics

Salem, Mass -- Mark Alexander (Providence, RI) scored a game-high 23 points, including 14 in the second half, to lead the Clark University Cougars to a hard-fought 86-81 victory over Salem State at the Vikings' annual Holiday Classic Tuesday evening at Twohig Gymnasium. The Vikings dropped their third straight game -- each by five points or less -- and fell to 1-9 on the season. Clark won its' fourth game in a row to improve to 8-3.

The difference in the game was the Salem State defense's inability to stop Clark with any consistency. The Vikings were never able to execute consecutive stops on the defensive end, consequently trading baskets with the Cougars over the game's final 10 minutes.

The Cougars took a 72-66 advantage after a bucket by Reed Powell (Worcester, MA) with six minutes remaining. The Vikings cut the deficit to three on three separate occasions, the last on Brian Clark's (Deerfield, MA) layup with just over five minutes remaining. But Alexander canned four of six free throws in the final minute to cement the victory.

Clark led by as many as 10 in the first half, before Salem State rallied to take a 51-46 lead four minutes into the second half. Clark patiently chipped away, and took the lead for good when Alexander hit a jumper with 10:53 remaining to give his team a 64-62 advantage.

The Vikings' Tristan Shannon (Andover, MA) tied Alexander for game-high honors with 23, and was joined in double figures by teammates Brian Clark (Deerfield, MA), who had 16, Brennan Bennett (Northbridge, MA), who had 15, and Dan Clark, who had 11. Brian Vayda (Sturbridge, MA) added 19 points and six rebounds for the Cougars, while Jonathan Phillips (Shrewsbury, MA) chipped in 13.

While both teams were nearly unstoppable from the floor - Clark shot 53%, while Salem State was an equally sizzling 50%, both missed several opportunities to help themselves at the line. The Cougars were just 17-28, while the Vikings were 8-15 from the charity stripe.

Salem State had no trouble solving Clark's vaunted defense in this fast-paced affair. The Vikings 81 points were the most allowed by the Cougars this season, and topped the stingy 63.1 ppg Clark had been allowing coming in.

Clark jumped out to a 23-19 lead in the first 10 minutes, as the Cougars hit 10 of their first 14 shots. The Vikings were able to keep pace, shooting 9-13 in the early going, shooting 9-13 in the early going, led by nine quick points from Shannon. A 7-1 spurt by the Cougars gave them their largest lead of the half, 30-21, but consecutive three-pointers by Dan Clark kept Salem State within striking distance. When Bennett hit a 30-footer at the halftime buzzer, the Vikings trailed by just three, 44-41, heading into the locker room.

The Holiday Classic continues Wednesday, with Salem State hosting Babson College at 7 p.m., preceded by Clark's battle with Becker at 3 p.m. Babson defeated Becker 98-87 in the first men's game of the tournament.