Potsdam, NY – A late turnover and a pair of free throws with less than a second left helped the University of Rochester escape with a 71-67 victory over the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team Monday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with the loss to the Yellowjackets, and both teams saw their season marks go to 7-2. Clarkson faces another tough test on Tuesday when it travels to face Cortland State.
Rochester took little time to establish itself in the paint, racing out to an 11-0 lead in the first 3:25 of the game. A timeout from Clarkson coach Adam Stockwell stopped the early rally, but the Knights had trouble cutting into the Yellowjackets’ advantage over the next few minutes. Finally, the Knights got back into the contest after dropping behind by 12 points, 22-10. Over a five-plus minute span, Clarkson went on a 14-1 run to take their only lead of the half at 6:02, thanks to eight points from senior forward Ryan Smith (Niagara Falls, NY). However, a trio of 3-pointers from the Yellowjackets, including a pair from Max Kaplan, put Rochester back up by seven. In the final minutes of the half, several free throws by Rochester pushed the lead back to 12 as the Yellowjackets went into the locker room up 40-28.
Rochester’s five starters combined for 38 of the 40 first-half points, led by Mike Chmielowiec’s nine points. Nate Novosel contributed seven points and eight rebounds. For Clarkson, Smith was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for his eight points. Four others contributed four points each.
The second half was a different story for Clarkson. Though the Knights found themselves down by 18 with less than 15 minutes to go in the game, the team rallied back slowly with numerous free throws from Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) and Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) as the game went to the paint. Though the margin hovered around 10 points, it wasn’t until late that Clarkson really made a push as a 3-pointer from Keith Murray (Queens, NY) cut the deficit to just three points (59-56) with 3:20 remaining. Trailing by six in the final minute, another 3-pointer from Murray cut the lead to three, and a turnover by the Yellowjackets allowed Clarkson to pull within one after a pair of free throws from George Koduah (Accra, Ghana). However, Rochester would shoot 5-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 15 seconds to hold off the Knights’ late charge and pull out the victory.
For Clarkson, Brandon Linton shrugged off a sluggish first half to finish with a team-high 18 points to go along with five assists. Elson Pickering contributed 12 more, shooting 6-for-6 from the free throw line and 3-for-5 from the field. Koduah closed with nine points and 11 rebounds.
The Yellowjackets were held together by their starters, as Rochester’s top five combined to score 69 of their 71 points, led by Mike Chmielowiec’s 20. Nate Novosel finished with 17 points while Mike Labanowski and Max Kaplan chipped in 14 and 10, respectively. Kaplan also had a game-high nine assists.
