by One team was going to come away with a six-game winning streak, the other wasn’t. Clarke University and (RV) MidAmerica Nazarene University both brought five-game winning streaks into a Saturday afternoon Heart of America Athletic Conference matchup at the Robert and Ruth Kehl Center. It didn’t take long for the Pride to determine who was going to come out of top of the first matchup with the Pioneers this winter and pick up the program’s first six-game winning streak under Coach Jim Blaine’s direction.
Clarke, 10-5 overall and 6-3 in league play, led 42-27 at intermission and extended the lead to 32 points with 12:15 left in the contest before settling for an 82-73 win. The Pride shot 57.1 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play. Nick Marshall (SO/Greenwith, Australia) was 5-for-6 from beyond the arc and had 17 first-half points.
Darius Lasley (Meskwaki) led Clarke with game-highs in scoring (22), rebounding (10), assists (7) and steals (4). Marshall finished with 19 points. The Pride also had double-figure scoring performances from Keith Johnson (SO/Dubuque, Iowa) (13) and Dylan Kurey (SO/Kaukauna, Wis.) (12).
Clarke owned a decisive edge in rebounding, 47-32. Johnson, Jordan Lake (SO/Peosta, Iowa) and Kurey followed Lasley in rebounding with seven boards apiece.
