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Ellis scores career-high 24 in Clarkson men's basketball win over Ithaca

Posted 1/14/18

Potsdam, NY – All five starters for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team finished in double figures as the Golden Knights pulled away in the second half to gain an 85-72 victory over …

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Ellis scores career-high 24 in Clarkson men's basketball win over Ithaca

Posted

Potsdam, NY – All five starters for the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team finished in double figures as the Golden Knights pulled away in the second half to gain an 85-72 victory over Ithaca College Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights moved to 6-8 on the season and 3-4 in the Liberty League, while Ithaca dropped to 10-4 overall and 5-2 in conference games. Clarkson faces Hobart College and RIT next weekend, again at Alumni Gymnasium.

Both Liam Ellis and Matt Higgins finished with 20-plus points, with Ellis tossing in 24 and Higgins scoring 19 of his 21 points in the second half. No shot exemplified how things went Clarkson's way in the final 20 minutes more than a desperation shot from Ellis on the Knights' final possession. After a near turnover off a late pass, Ellis tossed up a near no-look 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down, but the ball found the bottom of the net for an exclamation point on the Clarkson victory.

Ithaca came out cold in the first half and the Golden Knights took advantage, running out to a 12-2 lead within the first three minutes after Matt Higgins banked in a short jumper at the 16:49 mark. Clarkson still enjoyed a 10-point lead nearly seven minutes later when Liam Ellis hit a pair of free throws at the 10:04 mark, but Ithaca rallied with a 14-0 run in less than four minutes, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Marc Chasin and Matt Flood, putting Ithaca up by four, 27-23. It appeared as if the momentum had shifted in Ithaca's favor but consecutive 3-pointers from Ellis late in the half returned the lead to the Knights at 35-31. Ellis's second 3-pointer was the last points of the half for Clarkson, though, and Ithaca went into the locker room with a one-point lead thanks to free throws from Marc Chasin in the final minute.

After a quick five-point burst from Ithaca, the Bombers had trouble finding the opener shooters on the other end, with Clarkson scoring on five straight possessions to force Ithaca to call a timeout. After Joe Lucas hit a 3-pointer at 15:18, the Knights had their first double-digit lead at 54-43. Ithaca eventually cut the deficit to six on three occasions, including a Marc Chasin layup at the 6:05 mark (67-61). However, Barryn Shark delivered a 3-pointer on Clarkson's next possession and Lucas hit another 3-pointer a minute later to extend the margin to 12 points once again. The lead would remain 10 or more for the rest of the game as Clarkson won its second conference game in five days.

Ellis's 24 points marked a career-high, as the junior guard shot 8-for-12 from the field with four 3-pointers to go along with 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Higgins made just one shot in the first half in three attempts, but finished with 21 points by going 6-for-13 from the floor and 9-for-11 at the free throw line. Gary Hanley had his second double-double of the week with 11 points and 14 rebounds and both Joe Lucas and Matthew Hornak contributed 12 points for the Knights.

For Ithaca, Marc Chasin scored 17 points on 6-for-13 shooting and Peter Ezema added 13 points and nine rebounds in just 20 minutes before fouling out. Sebastian Alderete also hit double figures coming off the bench with 10 points.