Geneva, NY – As the only team to beat Hobart College in Liberty League play all season long, another win by the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team would have gone a long way in moving towards a playoff spot, but the Golden Knights couldn’t finish off the season sweep, falling to the Statesmen 74-66 Friday night.

The Golden Knights fell to 16-8 overall and 8-7 in Liberty League action, while Hobart moved to 18-6 overall and 14-1 in conference games. Clarkson closes out the regular season against RIT on Saturday.

Clarkson quickly jumped out to a five-point lead, but Hobart quickly recovered and the Statesmen built a nine-point lead late in the half. With less than three minutes to go, the Knights hit a pair of 3-pointers from Felix Abongo (Beacon, NY) and John Coleman (Potsdam, NY) to get back within two points, but a last-second 3-pointer from Hobart’s Stefan Thompson pushed the margin to five points at the break. John Coleman led all scorers with 15 points at the break, shooting an impressive 7-for-9 from the floor.

After falling back by seven at the start of the second half, the Knights quickly turned things around and tied the score at 39-39, but it was the closest the Knights would get to regaining the lead. Hobart’s Stefan Thompson scored eight points, including back-to-back 3-pointers, in a 15-2 run that provided the Statesmen with a double-digit advantage. With a responsive 7-0 run, Clarkson pulled back to within six points midway through the half, but Hobart halted the momentum. On two more occasions, the Knights were able to reduce the margin to six points, and continued to chip the Hobart lead down to as few as five points in the final minutes, but each time the Statesmen had an answer and were able to hold on for the victory.

John Coleman and Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) each finished the game with 17 points for Clarkson. Freshman Felix Abongo added in 15 points and Jerry Coleman (Potsdam, NY) tossed in 13 points for the Knights. For Hobart, Stefan Thompson scored a game-best 22 points while Joe Gibbons had 16 points. Richie Bonney came a rebound short of a double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds.