Potsdam, NY – Freshman Nick Jones (Washington, DC) led the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team in scoring for the third time in four games, tallying 17 points to help lead the Golden Knights to a 68-63 win over Keuka College Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
Clarkson improved to 5-5 on the season with their second straight win, while the Storm fell to 4-3 overall with their second straight loss.
Neither team started the game well offensively as the Golden Knights led just 4-0 at the 14:35 mark when Keuka broke their scoreless drought. The Storm took a 14-13 lead at 10:13, but Clarkson quickly came back with a 3-pointer from Josh Harner (Houston, TX). The Golden Knights held a 22-20 lead at 4:47 and went on a 12-6 run over the next 3:45 to end the half with a 34-26 lead. Jones led Clarkson with 11 first-half points and added four rebounds as the Knights struggled from the floor, shooting only 10-for-31 in the opening 20 minutes.
In the second half, the Golden Knights saw their lead narrowed to a single point at 49-48, but Clarkson again went on a 12-3 run over a four-minute span in the waning moments to take a double-digit lead. Despite a late run with a couple 3-pointers by the Storm, Clarkson shot 9-for-10 in the final minute from the free throw line for the final score.
Harner finished with 14 points for the Golden Knights, while sophomore forward Russ Vitallo (Dracut, MA) and freshman guard EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) each scored 11 points. Senior guard Kevin Williams added six points and 12 rebounds. The Golden Knights enjoyed a 51-35 edge in rebounding.
Jake Constance led the Storm with 15 points, while Brian Pelkey added 14 points for Keuka.
The Golden Knights return to action at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday when they host D’Youville at Alumni Gymnasium.
