Potsdam, NY - Senior forward Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY) shot 5-for-8 from the floor, including 4-for-5 from beyond the 3-point arc, for a team-high 16 points as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team pulled out a non-league win over RIT, 62-51, Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 4-0, the team’s best start since the 1999-2000 campaign, while the Tigers evened their record at 1-1 after opening the season with a win lopsided over D’Youville. Clarkson takes on Elmira College on Saturday afternoon while the Tigers visit St. Lawrence.
The first half started slow with neither team able to muster much offense as the score was just 9-4 with more than 10 minutes expired. A pair of 3-point field goals from Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) and Youngmann, along with a fast break lay up from Youngmann, extended the Knights lead to double figures with just six minutes remaining in the half. RIT slowly cut the advantage down to six, but another 3-pointer from Youngmann as time expired in the half returned the Knights to a 10-point advantage, 33-23, at intermission. Youngmann was 4-for-6 from the floor, including 3-for-3 from beyond the 3-point arc, for a game-high 11 points in the first half. Tim Bacon led the Tigers with seven points and four rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
Bacon came on strong in the opening minutes of the second half and dominated as an inside presence for the Tigers as RIT cut into the Clarkson advantage. The Golden Knights held never lost the lead, however, the Tigers closed to within one point at 48-47 with just 4:43 remaining in the game. Another 3-point field goal from Youngmann proved to an important bucket as the Knights ended the game with a 14-4 run over the final four and a half minutes.
Youngmann finished with 16 points in 36 minutes while classmate EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) finished with an off scoring night with 9 points, but contributed 6 assists, 6 steals and 5 rebounds, including 3 steals in the final 3:24. Tim Bacon finished with a game-high 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting for the Tigers and was aided by Kenny Gethers’ 12 points. Colin Roy contributed five steals.
