KNIGHTS FALL TO #4 SEED IN UCAA TOURNEY WITH 97-73 LOSS TO HAMILTON

February 21, 2004

Nick Jones scored a team-high 21 points against Hamilton - photo by Chris Lenney

Potsdam, NY – Senior center Joe Smith scored 28 points, shooting 11-for-16 from the field, and grabbed 12 rebounds as Hamilton defeated the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team 97-73 in an Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association (UCAA) league game Saturday afternoon at Clarkson’s Alumni Gymnasium.

With the loss to Clarkson drops to 15-10 overall and 9-5 in the UCAA, while Hamilton improved to 17-7 and 9-5. The win gives the Continentals home court advantage in the UCAA Tournament. The Golden Knights, who were guaranteed a spot coming into the tournament before today’s game, fell all the way to the #4 seed. Rensselaer, the #2 seed, will face St. Lawrence in the other first round game.

In the opening half, Hamilton was able to show why they have averaged 79 points per game all season, scoring 50 first-half points on the defensive-minded Golden Knights. Clarkson took a 3-0 lead after a 3-pointer from Josh Harner (Houston, TX), but Hamilton took the lead 4-3 and led for the rest of the half, save for a tie at the 15:54 mark. After a Nick Jones jumper at the 11:26 mark narrowed Hamilton’s advantage to 23-19, the Continentals broke the game open with a 23-14 run to take a 46-33 lead at the 1:51 mark. A lay up from John Fleming with just seconds remaining in the first half gave Hamilton a 50-36 lead at the end of 20 minutes. Hamilton shot 56 percent from the floor in the first half, including 6-for-7 shooting from Joe Smith, who scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Harner and Nick Jones (Washington, DC) each scored eight points to lead the Golden Knights in the first half. Clarkson was out rebounded 27-10 in the first half and shot just 13-for-31 from the field.

The Golden Knights looked likely to close the gap early in the second half with a quick spurt, but the Continentals broke open the game and took the lead to 20 points after a few moments of play. Greg Leone scored 26 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 4-for-8 from the 3-point arc, and Tim Welchons added 22 points on 8-for-17 shooting.

Freshman Nick Jones scored 21 points to lead the Golden Knights, shooting 8-for-16 from the floor in 25 minutes of action. Josh Harner added 13 points, while both Russ Vitallo (Dracut, MA) and EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) scored 11 points.

Hamilton shot 61.5 percent in the second half and 58.3 percent for the game while Clarkson made 42.4 percent of their shots. Hamilton also enjoyed a 43-24 rebounding advantage over the Golden Knights.

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