Potsdam, NY – Junior Matthew Hornak recorded a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds and senior Gary Hanley chipped in 16 boards to help lead the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team to a 72-61 victory over Cazenovia College on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights improved to 4-4 on the season and have just one more game on December 30th before returning to conference games in January. Cazenovia fell to 2-8 on the campaign.

Clarkson raced out to a 13-5 lead in the first five minutes following a Matt Higgins layup, forcing Cazenovia to take an early 30-second timeout. The break helped slightly as the Wildcats pulled back to within five, but over the next nine minutes, timely 3-pointers from Roburt Welch and Matthew Hornak gave the Knights a 12-point advantage (29-17). However, following a 3-pointer at the other end by the Wildcats, Cazenovia employed a full court press that seemed to throw off the Knights guards with several turnovers. Caz quickly erased the margin and had it down to just a single point at the 3:07 mark after a pair of free throws from Cameron Wilson. A 3-pointer from Nick Filippi at the 1:18 mark tied the game up at 31-31, and though Clarkson got baskets from Matt Higgins and Joe Lucas in the final minute, Will Thompson responded with a 3-pointer in the waning seconds to make it a one-point game at the break.

Clarkson shot an uncharacteristic 3-for-11 from beyond the arc, while Cazenovia shot 50% from distance (4-for-8). The Wildcats also had a significant advantage in free throws (15-2).

It took more than four minutes for Cazenovia to score in the second half, and Clarkson took advantage by extending its lead to seven points in the early going. Though Clarkson eventually would push the margin to 13 points with a little over seven minutes to go, the free throw differential would continue to haunt the Knights as Cazenovia was able to stick around. It wasn't until the final two minutes when Clarkson, too, entered the double bonus that the Knights were finally able to shake Cazenovia, winning by 11 thanks to free throws from Malaquias Canery down the stretch.

Hornack's double-double marked single-game career-highs in both points (16) and rebounds (11). Liam Ellis had a chance at a triple-double until he was slowed by foul trouble in the second half, posting 10 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists. Matt Higgins tossed in 14 points and Malaquias Canery contributed 13 points off the bench for Clarkson. Cazenovia got the majority of its points from two players, with Nick Filippi tossing in 24 points on 7-for-12 shooting and Will Thompson scoring 22 points to go along with 10 boards.