Canton, NY - Without a free throw attempt until the final six minutes of regulation, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team might have folded late, but the Golden Knights sunk eight free throws in the final moments to hold on for a 63-55 victory over St. Lawrence in Liberty League action Tuesday night at Burkman Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights won a key game in the Liberty League, moving to 2-3 in conference games and 10-6 overall, while St. Lawrence fell to 7-8 overall and 3-2 in the league. It was Clarkson's first win at St. Lawrence in the regular season since the 2001-2002 season. The Knights will look to improve on their two-game conference winning streak this weekend at Hamilton and Hobart.
Neither team had anything going offensively in the first portion of the game as each was still in single digits halfway through the first half. While St. Lawrence was still mired in its shooting slump, the Knights picked up the pace near the end of the half as Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ) hit three 3-point field goals. The Knights closed out the half with an 11-point edge, 27-16, as St. Lawrence shot only 6-for-27 overall and 1-for-10 from the 3-point line. Clarkson wasn't a lot better at 11-for-28, but freshman Nate Uline (Gansevoort, NY) picked up the slack by shooting 5-for-6.
Clarkson improved its lead to 14 points at the start of the second half, but St. Lawrence slowly chipped away, and tied the game on several occasions late in the half. However, each time the Saints tied the score, the Knights would respond with a 3-point field goal to reclaim the lead. With less than four minutes to go, Shawn Lasalita (San Diego, CA) would untie the game with a 3-pointer, and Jefferson followed with a deep 3-pointer of his own on the next possession, pushing the game to a two-possesion contest. Despite not shooting a free throw until the 5:31 mark of the second half, Clarkson made eight free throws down the stretch to hold off the Saints.
Uline finished with a career-high 14 points and nine rebounds, while Jefferson added 13 points, six rebounds, and seven assists. Lasalita tossed in 13 clutch points in 17 minutes off the bench, and Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) and Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
For St. Lawrence, Garrett Sharlow had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds and three others finished with 10 points each.
