Potsdam, NY – Junior guard Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) produced a solid all-around game with 17 points, 5 assists, and 3 blocks as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team emerged with a 58-56 win over Elmira College on Saturday evening to end the first semester with a 6-1 start, the best beginning to a season since the 1947-48 campaign.
The Golden Knights, who have won four straight, are 6-1, the best start since the '47-48 incarnation of the Green and Gold began the year at 7-0. Elmira fell to 2-5 with the loss.
To the call the opening minutes of the first half a time of runs would be a considerable understatement. Clarkson began the half with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes. After breaking the barrier themselves a few minutes later, the Soaring Eagles responded with an 8-0 run of their own over the course of three minutes. From that point, the Knights countered with a 10-0 run from 10:41 to 7:17 to jump out to a 17-8 lead. The two teams finally began to convert back and forth at that point, with the Knights nailing a 3-pointer in the final minute to take a 27-15 lead, but Jon Adamson hit a last second lay up to bring Elmira back to within 10 points.
Junior Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) led the Knights with 10 points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes, while Adamson had 10 points, shooting 4-for-6 from the floor, and six rebounds for Elmira. The rest of the Soaring Eagles went just 3-for-24 from the field.
After a quick burst from the Soaring Eagles, Clarkson got to the basket on several occasions to extend its lead to as many as 17 points with under 10 minutes to go. However, Elmira made a variety of 3-point plays, both old-fashioned and from beyond the arc, to cut the lead back to a manageable deficit. Down the stretch, the Knights failed to make their free throws while the Soaring Eagles converted 11 of 16 free throws in the second half to climb back into the contest. Elmira had a chance to tie or go ahead on the final play of the game, but a full-length pass was intercepted by Keith Murray (Queens, NY) and he held on to give Clarkson the win.
Despite shooting a poor percentage (19-for-55 for 34.5%), Elmira was able to stay in the game by limiting Clarkson’s second-chance opportunities, as the Knights had just five offensive rebounds in the contest.
Along with Linton, Pickering had an impressive game before leaving with injury, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting and nine rebounds. Senior guard Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) also finished with 11 points.
For the Soaring Eagles, Jon Adamson closed with 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the team’s leading scorer coming in, Bobby DiPiazza, finished with 13, but shot just 3-for-17 from the floor.
