Knights Outscore Bard; Bears Halted

ANNADALE-ON-HUDSON - Down a starter thanks to a freak injury, the Clarkson University men's basketball team needed to come up with points from unexpected sources.

The Golden Knights got what they needed from Liberty League leading scorer Felix Llanos (Queens), but his classmate Tyler Barron (Burlington, VT) filled in nicely to lift Clarkson to an 83-68 victory over Bard College Friday night.

Clarkson (12-4, 5-2 Liberty League) finished the first half with a 14-6 run over the final five minutes to take a five-point lead into the locker room.

In the opening minutes of the second half, Clarkson poured in the points, scoring 10 in less than three minutes to extend its lead to double figures. Bard would pull within six points on four occasions, but each time Clarkson had an answer, either from Llanos or the Knights' frontcourt, which rarely missed. One last push from the Raptors brought them within eight points, but another Llanos 3-pointer ended the rally as Clarkson made all the right plays down the stretch to clinch the victory.

Clarkson's frontcourt was solid once again, shooting 16-20 from the floor. Nate Uline (Gansevoort) and John Coleman (Potsdam) each shot 6-7 from the floor and Christian Collette (Yalesville, CT) was nearly as efficient, going 4-for-6 from the field. Clarkson had 26 assists on 32 field goals and currently ranks second in the country in finding the open man.

Llanos finished with a game-high 27 points. He also added eight rebounds and four assists. Barron shot 5-6 from the field for a season-high 12 points while adding in five rebounds and five assists. Uline had 15 points while Coleman added 14 points, six rebounds, five assists, four steals, and a block.

For Bard, Matt Shubert scored 17 points while Siondueh Burnette and Francis Arnold each added 16.

Cortland 58, Potsdam 50: Curtis Pierce scored 16 points and pulled down 17 rebounds but the Bears came out on the short end of a 58-50 loss to Cortland. Junior Brian Manning (Elmira) led the Red Dragons with a game-high 28 points and knocked down 11-of-15 field goal attempts.

The first half was evenly played with the Red Dragons going into the locker room hanging onto a narrow 29-28 lead.

Potsdam went cold to start the half and the Red Dragons took advantage, using a 12-4 run thanks to nine early points by Manning. The spurt gave Cortland a 41-32 lead before sophomore Tony Efese (Spring Valley) buried a three. Pierce answered a Cortland basket with a three-pointer of his own to cut the deficit to 43-38 at the 13:19 mark. With the Bears trailing 53-46, Pierce hit a driving layup to cut into the lead with just under three minutes left. On the ensuing defensive possession, Potsdam forced a 35-second shot clock violation but was unable to convert on the offensive end. Cortland knocked down late free throws to come away with the hard fought victory.

For the game, Potsdam held a 41-33 advantage in rebounds. Potsdam native Zac Adams was the only other Bear to score in double-figures, chipping in 10 points and grabbing six rebounds.

For Cortland, Kevin McMahon scored nine points and had eight rebounds.

"I thought we played really hard and played well on the defensive end,"said Potsdam coach Sherry Dobbs.

"We had some critical lapses in the second half which hurt us but I thought Curtis played really well and Zac Adams is really starting to come around for us."

The Bears return to action this afternoon against Oswego. The ball tips at 4 p.m. at Maxcy Hal.

SLU 61, Vassar 54: St. Lawrence earned a 61-54 victory over Liberty League opponent Vassar College on Friday night in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

St. Lawrence, led by four players in double-figures, improves to 9-8 and 5-4 in the league. Junior guard Kyle Miller had 13 points for the Saints, including a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line. Senior guards Ralph Temgoua and Terry Parham added 12 points apiece and combined for 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals. Sophomore forward Janpeter Brase added 10 points and six rebounds. The loss drops the Brewers to 6-9 overall and 2-4 in Liberty League play.