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Knights drop 63-46 decision at Skidmore

Posted 2/16/19

Saratoga Springs, NY - Despite a second solid defensive effort against Skidmore College, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team was unable to muster enough offense to keep up with the …

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Knights drop 63-46 decision at Skidmore

Posted

Saratoga Springs, NY - Despite a second solid defensive effort against Skidmore College, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team was unable to muster enough offense to keep up with the Thoroughbreds as the Golden Knights dropped a 63-46 decision in Liberty League action Friday night.

The Golden Knights dropped to 6-18 overall and 5-12 in the Liberty League while Skidmore moved to 16-7 overall and 14-3 in league contests. Clarkson will close out the regular season on Saturday when it faces Rensselaer.

Clarkson was held to a season-low four 3-point field goals on 24 tries (16.7%) while Skidmore had just enough offense (21-for-53 overall, 15-for-22 from the free throw line) to keep the Knights at a safe distance throughout the second half.

The Knights suffered through a rough start, shooting 1-for-9 with three turnovers in the first six minutes of the game and falling behind 9-2. Clarkson rallied to within three on a fastbreak layup by Matthew Hornak at the 9:17 mark, but Skidmore responded with 17 unanswered points. Jack Byrne hit a 3-pointer and Edvinas Rupkus dropped in another 3-pointer to put Skidmore up 20-9 at 8:15, but Clarkson was unable to respond. Rupkus and Noah Meren hit two more 3-pointers over the next four minutes to close out the run. The Knights were able to trim the deficit down to 10 at the break thanks to six straight points in the final minutes, including a last-second layup from Jake Purdy to make the score 33-23 at intermission.

Skidmore scored seven points in the first 90 seconds of the second half and never looked back, however, as Clarkson was unable to get within striking distance for much of the latter half. Jason Phelps hit a jumper at the 4:30 mark to pull the Knights within 12, but that was as close as Clarkson could get, with Skidmore scoring enough from the free throw line down the stretch to gain a 17-point win.

No Clarkson players finished in double figures, as Matt Higgins nine-point, seven-rebound effort led the Knights. Reese Swedberg contributed nine points and six boards and Purdy added in six points and six rebounds for Clarkson. For Skidmore, Noah Meren shot 8-for-11 from the floor for 19 points and Rupkus contributed 15 points with five boards, three assists and three steals. Jack Byrne tossed in 10 points in 22 minutes off the Skidmore bench.