Potsdam, NY – A near first half double-double from George Koduah (Accra, Ghana) and a solid shooting performance overall to start the opening period gave the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team an easy 98-60 victory over Paul Smith’s College Tuesday evening at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 4-1 overall on the season, while Paul Smith’s dropped to 4-7. Clarkson closes out the home portion of the first semester on Friday when it hosts Elmira College.
Though the Knights struggled in the first few minutes, it didn’t take long for the Green and Gold to figure out their woes. Clarkson spent plenty of time on the interior making easy buckets in transition, and the Knights picked their spots on the perimeter to keep the Bobcats’ defense honest. That combination allowed Clarkson to jump out to a 33-point advantage (48-15) with more than five minutes remaining in the first half. However, a cold snap by Clarkson allowed the Bobcats to rally, as Paul Smith’s scored 12 straight. The halftime gap finished at 23 points (52-29).
Koduah recorded 14 points and nine rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, shooting 6-for-7 from the field, including a thunderous dunk on the fast break after a steal by Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, NY). Hood himself finished with seven points, five rebounds, and two steals in the first half, while Tyler Barron (South Burlington, VT), Felix Llanos (Queens, NY), and Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ) each recorded eight points.
In the second half, it was simply more of the same for the Knights as they pushed their advantage to above 30 early on in the period. Five player finished in double figures, including the completed double-double by Koduah, who had 18 points and 11 rebounds in just 17 minutes. Llanos added in 13 points and four assists, while Jefferson added 12 points and five steals. Freshman Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) added 10 points and four assists, while Hood tossed in 10 points and seven rebounds.
Tanner Benjamin led Paul Smith’s with 14 points in 21 minutes off the bench. Ryan Hingston also scored 11 points off the bench for the Bobcats.
