Potsdam, NY – Despite a rough shooting performance, Plattsburgh State’s Anthony Williams scored a game-high 22 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists as the 11th-ranked Cardinals downed the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team 77-63 Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights fell to 1-5 overall and end the first semester’s games on Saturday against crosstown rival Potsdam State. The Cardinals remained unbeaten and moved to 5-0. 

The Golden Knights defense stood up and denied the Cardinals any good chances at the basket in the first 11 minutes, and junior Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) was a tough match up for Plattsburgh as he put together a 9-point effort early on. However, after the Cardinals regrouped with a timeout at the 8:53 mark, Plattsburgh went on a steady 13-2 run over the next three and a half minutes with several lay ups. Despite the Knights retaking the lead just a minute later, the Cardinals would not be slowed down and went on an 8-2 run to end the half with a 31-26 advantage.

Pickering finished with 11 points and 5 rebounds, shooting 5-for-8 from the field in 18 minutes. Three players scored seven points to lead the Cardinals, specifically Anthony Williams, who added in four rebounds and two assists. Travis Gorham also contributed six points and four rebounds.

In the second half, the Cardinals pushed their lead to double-digits, but Clarkson’s John Chiero (Southington, CT) scored five points quickly to bring the game back to 36-30. From that point, however, the Cardinals ran off an 11-2 run in the next five and a half minutes to expand the lead to 15. Plattsburgh pushed the lead to 20 points, and both teams put their reserves in, but some hot shooting from the Clarkson guards suddenly had the Knights back to within nine points and the Cardinals were forced to send the starters back on to the floor for the final 1:40. However, Plattsburgh ran down the clock with a solid possession and scored in the final seconds before the 35-second shot clock ran out and was able to nail free throws down the stretch for the win.

Williams led all scorers with 22 points, shooting 5-for-17 from the field but a solid 11-for-13 from the free throw line. Travis Gorham added in 16 points and 9 rebounds while Khylan Hunt contributed 11 points.

Pickering finished with 13 points and 8 rebounds in 28 minutes. Both Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) and Shawn Lasalita (San Diego, CA) reached double figures, scoring 10 points each. Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) added in 9 points, 5 assists, and 3 steals.