Potsdam, NY – Drew Desmarais scored 21 points, shooting nearly flawlessly at 6-for-8 from the floor and 9-for-10 from the free throw line, as Union College held on to defeat the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team 75-71 in Liberty League action Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights dropped to 10-7 overall and 1-5 in the Liberty League while Union evened its overall record at 8-8 and improved to 5-1 in conference play. Clarkson hosts Skidmore on Saturday afternoon while Union faces St. Lawrence.

The two teams traded shots throughout the first half as the game was played at a high-scoring pace. Leading by one, 20-19, Union ran off seven straight points in just 1:34 to take an eight-point advantage, but a run from the Knights, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Erick Vigansky (Kenosha, WI) and Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY), pushed the lead down to one, 29-28, in favor of Union. Unfortunately for the Knights, the Dutchmen went on a 10-3 run over the final five minutes of the half to return the lead to eight, 39-31, at the half.

Both teams shot well from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half, with Union making five of its nine attempts and Clarkson going 4-for-8. The Knights picked up nine offensive rebounds, but were unable to make the most of their opportunities on short shots in the paint, shooting 9-for-22 inside the line. Brendan Rose was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field for a game-high 10 points for Union while Nick Dimaggio added nine points. Brian Salanger scored eight points on 3-for-5 shooting for Clarkson.

In the second half, the Knights pulled to within two at 50-48 with 12:52 remaining, but another 7-0 run put Union up by nine. The Dutchmen and Knights went back and forth, with Clarkson able to close the gap to a single possession, 68-65, with just under two minutes remaining. However, the Dutchmen, the best free-throw shooting team in the Liberty League, were able to hit their freebies down the stretch and held on for the win.

Union finished with five players in double-figures, led by the game-high 21 by Desmarais. Nick Dimaggio finished with 12 points while Joe Mackey and Joey Lokitis each added 11 points. Kyle Grimm closed with 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 blocks.

For Clarkson, EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) scored a team-high 18 points and made two steals. Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY) produced 13 points. Salanger and Vigansky closed with 11 and 10 points, respectively.