Poughkeepsie, NY – A solid performance from the perimeter and a ferocious first-half comeback gave the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team its fourth straight victory in Liberty League play as the Golden Knights downed Vassar College 76-73 Saturday afternoon.

The Golden Knights improved to 13-4 overall and 6-2 in conference games, while Vassar fell to 6-11 and 2-6. Clarkson returns to action on Tuesday when it hosts St. Lawrence University at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Knights quickly scored the first three points of the game on Saturday, but Vassar was the team with the hot hand in the early going. Vassar responded with 10 points in a two-minute stretch and had 23 in less than five minutes to take a double-digit lead. The Brewers continued to hit from all over, and held a 33-18 lead at the 7:49 mark. However, the Vassar offense would stall just as Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) found his stroke from the perimeter. Llanos nailed four 3-pointers in a short stretch while the Brewers went cold, with the Knights totaling 19 points in six minutes against Vassar’s zero. Clarkson went into the locker room with a two-point edge, 37-35.

Though Clarkson gained the lead near the end of the half and would never relinquish it for the remainder of the contest, the Knights found it difficult to shake the pesky Brewers. Clarkson pushed their advantage to double figures on a hand full of occasions, but was never able to put the Brewers away. Even late as Clarkson went cold from the field, Vassar came back to within two points in the final moments. Free throws from Llanos and Marques Charlton (Deer Park, NY) proved to be enough to hold off Vassar as Llanos made a late steal to keep the Brewers from hoisting a late shot in an attempt to send the game to overtime.

Llanos finished with 19 points, shooting 6-for-9 from beyond the 3-point arc. Charlton tied him for the team-high with 19 points. John Coleman (Potsdam, NY), the nation’s leader in field goal percentage entering the contest, scored 17 points, but had an uncharacteristically tough game from the field, being held to less than 50 percent from the floor for only the second time this year. He more than made up for the slight hiccup with seven rebounds and four assists. Tyler Barron (Burlington, VT) also had 15 points, going 4-for-7 from the 3-point line.

For Vassar, Johnny Mrlick scored 19 points and was one rebound short of a double-double. Alex Snyder did complete the feat with 11 points and 11 rebounds and Evan Carberry also tossed in 11 points. Jon Herzog, who was key in the first half run for the Brewers, finished with 18 points.