Potsdam, NY – Junior forward Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) came through with his fifth double-double of the season, scoring 11 points to go along with 10 rebounds and 2 blocks as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team won its conference opener, 51-41, over Union College on Friday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights ended a four-game losing streak with the victory, to improve to 3-9 overall and 1-0 in the Liberty League, while Union dropped its second game in league play and fell to 4-8 overall. Clarkson hosts Skidmore tomorrow at 4 pm, while Union visits St. Lawrence.

The difference in the first half was the ability of the Golden Knights to hold Union down defensively for the entire 20 minutes. The Dutchmen didn’t score a point until a pair of free throws by Joey Lokitis were converted at 13:52, and Union didn’t record a field goal until there was 4:15 remaining in the half. Overall, Union shot just 1-for-20 from the field and was held to 10 points, while the Knights shot 13-for-26 (50%) from the floor, giving Clarkson a 29-10 lead at the half.

Pickering produced game-highs of 9 points, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, and 7 rebounds. Sophomore Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) also added seven points and three assists, shooting 3-for-4 from the floor. Joey Lokitis scored the first three points for Union, all on free throws, to lead the Dutchmen’s efforts in the first half.

It didn’t take anywhere near as long for Union to score in the second half, but the scoring pace was still slower than normal in the final 20 minutes. The Dutchmen crawled back to within 10 points midway through the half, but Clarkson held off the Union rally by responding with tough inside play.

Linton finished with a game-high 13 points, shooting 5-for-7 from the floor, by weaving his way to the basket through traffic on numerous occasions. Keith Murray (Queens, NY) also added 8 points and 4 steals.  Drew Desmarais led Union with 13 points, the only player with more than eight for the Dutchmen.