Potsdam, NY – Senior Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) and sophomore Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ) each scored 17 points as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team cruised to an overwhelming victory over Hilbert College, 86-57, Wednesday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 7-1 overall, matching their best eight-game start in program history (most recently 1947-48), while the Hawks fell to 2-7. Clarkson will host the University of Rochester next Monday.
The Golden Knights turned the ball over three times early on in the game, but Clarkson found its scoring groove quickly with an 11-0 run from 17:37 to 15:15 in the first half to take an 11-2 lead. Six minutes later, Clarkson would go on another run, this time a 13-2 push, thanks to three-point field goals from Jefferson, Salanger, Keith Murray (Queens, NY), giving the Knights a 31-12 lead with less than eight minutes to go. From there, Clarkson continued to make its long shots and finished the half with a 47-24 edge.
Clarkson shot 56.3% from beyond the 3-point arc (9-for-16), led by Salanger’s four long-range shots. He finished the half with a game-high 12 points. Jefferson, Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) and Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) each added eight points.
In the second half, the Knights continued to score from the outside and pushed their lead to as many as 35 late in the half before having the final margin set at 29 points. The 29-point win was Clarkson’s largest margin of victory since the team beat Paul Smith’s by 30 to start the 2005-06 season, a stretch of 86 games. The Knights’ 86 points were the most scored in a game by Clarkson in a span of 107 games, falling one point short of their total in a game against St. Lawrence in 2004-05.
Salanger added four steals to his 17 points. Linton also contributed five assists and four steals with his 12 points, and Llanos finished with 11 points. Ryan Smith (Niagara Falls, NY) added 11 rebounds. Nick Piccone led Hilbert with 15 points, shooting 6-for-10 from the floor. Clarkson out rebounded the Hawks 45-30 and made 13 steals in the contest.
