Clark sinks Coast Guard; Suber scores 36 points as Becker rallies for victory.

• Position: SPORTS

COLUMN: AREA ROUNDUP

MEN'S BASKETBALL

Clark 57, Coast Guard 56

Mark Alexander scored 14 points as the Cougars (7-6, 2-0) held off a late surge and some crazy plays to hand the Bears (9-2, 0-2) just their second loss of the season in a NEWMAC game at New London, Conn.

Clark led, 55-46, with 6:05 left before Coast Guard used an 11-2 run to cut the deficit to 57-55 with 2:22 to go. The Bears made just 6 of 16 from the foul line, yet had a chance to win in the final seconds.

Coast Guard's Eric Hudson made 1 of 2 free throws with 13.6 seconds left to cut Clark's lead to 57-56. The Cougars' Pat Landers then missed the front end of a one-and-one with 9.2 seconds left. The Bears grabbed the rebound and called a timeout with 2.5 seconds left.

That's when things got bizarre. Coast Guard turned the ball over on the inbounds pass by throwing it out of bounds, but the Bears drew an offensive foul before the ball was inbounded and got it back. But Al Sowers' 3-pointer at the buzzer didn't fall.

"It was a great, great, game," Clark coach Paul Phillips said. "From start to finish, it was one of the better games I've been involved with."

The Cougars connected on 7 of 14 from 3-point range in the first half, building a 36-29 lead at intermission.

Peter Normandin added 11 points and a team-high 6 rebounds for Clark.

Becker 99, Johnston St. 96

Junior guard Travis Suber hit for a season-high 36 points to help the Hawks beat the Badgers in a North Atlantic Conference game at Leicester gymnasium.

Johnson State had a 96-88 lead with 1:36 left, but didn't score down the stretch.

Kevin Miranda (20 points) started the Becker comeback with a 3-pointer with 1:11 left, then Suber converted on a pass from Jeremy Rivers to cut the deficit to 96-93. After a Darren Callahan block of the Badgers' Bobby Shedd, Miranda hit his second trey in less than a minute to tie the game, 96-96, with 36 seconds left.

After a Johnson State miss, Suber drove the lane and was fouled with 9 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to give the Hawks a 97-96 lead. On the ensuing possession, Suber stole the ball and dunked for the final points of the game.

Salve Regina 94, Anna Maria 87

The AmCats (6-7, 0-1 CCC) fell in overtime in Newport, R.I., despite taking an 80-78 lead with 22 seconds left in regulation on a Henry Rose 3-pointer.

Rose scored 11 points and former Holy Name standout Ryan Brown netted 19, shooting 7 of 10 from the floor, including five 3-pointers. Adam Garabedian dropped...