Potsdam, NY – Eight different players scored six or more points for the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team as Golden Knights ended a five-game losing streak to Hobart College with a 68-47 Liberty League victory on Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights improved to 13-9 overall and 4-7 in conference while the Statesmen dropped to 7-14 and 3-8. The win for Clarkson was the first for the Knights against Hobart since the team swept the Statesmen in the 2003-04 season. Also, the 47 points allowed by the Knights were the fewest scored by an opponent since the season-opener against Castleton State.
In a total reversal from the previous meeting between the two teams when Hobart dominated the first half, the Golden Knights raced out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2:36, thanks to a pair of 3-pointers from Erick Vigansky (Kenosha, WI). Unfortunately for the Clarkson, Vigansky got into early foul trouble and had to exit, but the team maintained its hot start. Hobart made a run of its own and closed the gap to 19-15 with just under 10 minutes to go. Clarkson buckled down on the defensive end, forcing several turnovers and blocking a handful of shots, to go on a 15-4 run to end the half.
Vigansky led all scorers with eight points in just nine minutes in a balanced Clarkson attack. The Golden Knights shot 14-for-26 from the floor (53.8%). Hobart was led by Mike Manning in the opening 20 minutes as he scored six points on 3-for-8 shooting. The rest of the Statesmen struggled, shooting a combined 4-for-21.
In the second half, Hobart closed the gap to nine points at the 15:53 mark, 36-27, but Clarkson rolled off 10 unanswered points and led by at least 16 points for the remainder of the game, pushing the advantage to as many as 24 points in the final minutes.
Senior EJ Harrison (Troy, NY) scored a team-high 12 points on 5-for-9 shooting to lead Clarkson’s scoring attack while sophomore Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) added 10 points and 4 steals. Vigansky finished with eight and senior Jon Youngmann (Corinth, NY) added 8 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Clarkson shot 60.0% from the field in the second half (12-for-20) and a tough 56.5% for the game.
The Statesmen were led by a steadier scorer as Mike Manning finished with 17 points and 7 rebounds. John Grazioli added 11 points and 5 rebounds, but shot only 3-for-15 from the floor. Hobart didn’t improve much upon its shooting in the second half, going 9-for-31 (29.0%) to finish at 26.7% in the game.
