Potsdam, N.Y. - Despite shooting nearly 50% from the field, the Clarkson University Men's Basketball team dropped a 86-82 decision to Skidmore, Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium. 

Clarkson now sits at 6-9 overall while moving to 1-7 in league play. The team returns to action next weekend, January 23rd and 24th, hosting Ithaca and RIT. The Thoroughbreds move to 6-7 overall and 2-4 in the conference. 

The teams would combine to score 37 points between them before the first media timeout. Six points from Braeden Burns over the opening stretch along with a three from Aydin Kocak saw the Knights up 19-18 just under six minutes in. Clarkson would then get up by four out of the break with a wing three from Ben Rappa and then Nate Abernethy would answer an Aidan Roy jumper to make it 24-20 with 13:04 remaining. The Thoroughbreds would then use a quick 7-0 run on the next three possessions to go up three before the 11 minute mark. That lead would grow to 34-26 in the next three minutes with Jack LaGarde capping off another 7-0 run for the visitors. 

Grayson Wallace managed to bring the Knights back level at the 6:14 mark, cashing in on a corner three but another quick response from Skidmore saw them lead by as much as six with under 30 seconds remaining in the half. A driving layup from Steve DeRegis with six seconds on the clock cut the deficit to 46-42 at the half. Skidmore would shoot a scorching 57% (20-35) from the field in the first half, while Clarkson was not far behind at 47% (16-34). 

Out of halftime, Lorenzo Rappa would give Clarkson an early one point advantage less than three minutes in with a corner triple to make it 50-49. A quick response from Roy would put the Thoroughbreds back up two as the teams would trade baskets up to the 14:45 mark as the score would tie up at 52, 54 and 56. 

A short 5-0 burst from Skidmore saw them take back the advantage on the scoreboard as the ten-minute mark of the second drew near, the lead would grow to 66-58 following a Jacob Gooden jumper with 11:28 on the clock. Despite Clarkson still finding scoring opportunities, Skidmore would continue to do just enough to keep the lead intact with four being the closest the Knights would get with 7:45 remaining until the end of the contest. 

A 6-0 stretch from four minutes down to two saw the lead balloon to 11 with another LaGarde bucket but building on several stops in a row plagued the Knights down the stretch. Wallace would hit two more threes with less than a minute remaining to bring Clarkson back to within five, but consistent free throw shooting at the other end from the visitors saw a two possession lead remain. A put back attempt from Lorenzo Rappa at the buzzer spelled the final score, 86-82. 

The teams would reverse shooting percentages in the second half as Clarkson would go 52% (16-31) from the field while holding Skidmore to 41% (13-32). An 11-15 mark at the free throw line in the final 20 minutes ensured the edge for the visitors who also held an advantage in points off turnovers (14-6) and second chance points (12-8). The Knights outscored Skidmore 42-38 in the paint in a game that saw 12 lead changes and seven ties. 

Burns led the scoring charge for Clarkson with 18 points while also snagging eight rebounds. Abernethy and Lorenzo Rappa both tallied 16 while Rappa also grabbed seven boards and dished out six assists. DeRegis added 15 points and four assists in the effort. Skidmore received a three-headed scoring outburst from Will Wertz (21 points), Gooden (21 points) and Roy (20 points). LaGarde grabbed eight rebounds to go along with 10 points off the bench.