Potsdam, NY – In his collegiate debut, freshman Shawn Lasalita (San Diego, CA) scored nine of his game-high 15 points in the second half as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team defeated the Albany College of Pharmacy 69-48 in the second game of the Casella Waste Services North Country Tip-Off Classic Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights are now 1-0 on the season and will face off against cross-town rival Potsdam State at 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon in the championship game of the tournament. Albany, which fell to 2-4, will play Ithaca College at 2:00 pm in the consolation contest.

The Knights and Panthers spent the first 10 minutes feeling one another out as the teams essentially traded baskets on the inside. Leading by just a single point, 14-13, with eight minutes remaining in the half, Clarkson finally started taking advantage of its depth and went on a 19-7 run over the next seven minutes, ending the half with a 33-21 edge.

Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) scored a team-high 10 points on 5-for-8 shooting and added in six rebounds and two blocks in the opening 20 minutes. Lasalita tossed in six points in six minutes coming off the bench. Zach Bratek led Albany, scoring the team’s first eight points, and grabbed eight rebounds.

In the second half, the Panthers pulled to within four points with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game, but Clarkson slowly pulled away, ending the game on a 25-9 run, including a 13-1 spurt in the final 5:49.

Pickering finished with 10 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 blocks while senior James Evans (Hamburg, NY scored 10 points to go along with five rebounds. Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) produced a solid all-around effort with 8 points, 7 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals.

Ramy Ramzy led the Panthers with 13 points, shooting 5-for-10 from the floor. Bratek finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 3 blocks, and Michael Melvin came off the bench to score 11 points, going 5-for-6 from the field in 18 minutes.