Westfield, MA - A nine-minute stretch without a field goal at the end of the first half and a 16-minute run without a 3-pointer doomed the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team on Friday evening as the Golden Knights dropped an 85-63 decision to Westfield State in the first round of the Rick Martin Invitational.

The Golden Knights fell to 0-2 on the season and will play in the consolation game of the tournament at 1:00 pm on Saturday. Westfield State moved to 2-0 and heads to the championship contest at 3:00 pm.

The Owls scored seven points in the first 68 seconds and led by nine (11-2) at the 17:32 mark, but Clarkson quickly recovered with four 3-pointers in the next six minutes, including a Barryn Shark step-back 3-pointer at the 11:07 mark to get the Knights to within one (17-16). However, that Shark 3-pointer was the last that Clarkson would make in the half, as the Knights missed eight straight from distance. Making things worse for the Knights was that a Matt Higgins layup at 8:59 was the last field goal that Clarkson would make, going 0-for-7 down the stretch with four turnovers in the last nine minutes.

Westfield State took advantage of Clarkson's offensive woes, especially in the final few minutes. Clarkson kept things close with free throws, but four straight baskets in the waning moments, including a layup-and-one from Moody Bey at the 1:09 mark pushed the Owls advantage to double digits.

Clarkson shot only 28.0% from the floor overall (7-for-25) and was 4-for-17 from the 3-point line in the opening 20 minutes, while Westfield State was just one shot short of 50 percent from the field, going 15-for-31.

Things did not get much better for Clarkson in the second half, though a Roburt Welch 3-pointer at 15:11 broke a string of 11 straight misses from the 3-point line. Freshman Chris Hulbert buried another long-range shot just a minute later, but the shooting struggles continued as the Knights missed 11 straight 3-pointers after Hulbert's make at 13:55 to close out the game. What kept Clarkson reasonably close was a nice run from the free throw line as the team went 15-for-16 from the free throw line to begin the second half, but turnovers and misses mounted. Westfield State led by 14 points late, but some easy looks at the end of the game allowed the margin to swell to 22.

Just three days after burying 16 3-pointers in the season-opener, Clarkson shot only 6-for-34 from beyond the arc with two long stretches of 11 straight misses from deep. The Knights were 18-for-57 overall (31.6%) with 22 turnovers. Liam Ellis finished with a team-best 13 points while adding in four assists. Matt Higgins tossed in 11 points and Reese Swedberg came up a basket short of a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds.

For Westfield State, Jauch Green shot 9-for-13 from the floor for 18 points to go along with eight rebounds. Marcus Collins tossed in 15 points and Ant Reynolds contributed a double-double on 10 points and 10 rebounds while also chipping in four assists.