Potsdam, NY – Going 6-for-6 down the stretch from the free throw line was enough for RIT to hold off the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team's late charge as the Golden Knights fell to the Tigers 79-71 in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 6-10 overall and 2-7 in the Liberty League, while RIT improved its standing to 6-3 in conference games and 8-8 overall. Of Clarkson's five league defeats in January, four have come by single digits.

Senior guards Anthony Lewis and Troy Pierre-Louis combined for 48 points for the Tigers, shooting a collective 17-for-26 from the field with seven 3-pointers and a flawless 7-for-7 effort from the free throw line. Pierre-Louis was particularly tough from the arc, going 6-for-9 from long range.

The Tigers dropped eight points in the first 90 seconds before Clarkson finally got things underway offensively. The Knights quickly trimmed the margin to two on multiple occasions, but RIT pushed its way back out to an eight-point advantage (32-24) at the 5:47 mark when Cobey Adekanbi converted on the interior. Clarkson responded with seven straight points and then finally tied the game up at 34-34 on a Matt Higgins 3-pointer at 3:03 and Gary Hanley's fourth basket of the half in the final minute kept things knotted up at the break.

Clarkson enjoyed the lead briefly in the second half when Hanley scored on Clarkson's initial possession and Matt Higgins hit another 3-pointer at the 18:29 mark, but RIT went on a 14-3 run in a stretch of five minutes to earn its first double-digit lead when Troy Pierre-Louis hit a 3-pointer at the 13:07 mark. The Tigers would extend their lead to 11 points on multiple occasions and led by that figure with just 3:13 remaining when Anthony Lewis hit a pair of free throws. However, Clarkson came roaring back, highlighted by a steal and layup from Liam Ellis with 1:17 to go that reduced the deficit to three points with 1:17 remaining. That was the last basket that Clarkson would make, though, as RIT's guard hit six free throws in the final 66 seconds for a comfortable margin of victory.

Matt Higgins led Clarkson with 20 points, shooting 8-for-17 from the floor, and also tied for the team lead in rebounds with eight. Gary Hanley added in 12 points and eight boards and Liam Ellis also tossed in 12 points while producing four assists. For RIT, Troy Pierre-Louis scored 28 points on 9-for-15 shooting and Anthony Lewis had 20 points by going 8-for-11 from the field. Robert Aguilera also contributed 12 points and seven rebounds in RIT's winning effort.