Potsdam, NY – Forwards Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) and Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, NY) each produced double-double efforts as the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team hung on for a 71-61 victory over SUNY Canton Tuesday night at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights moved to 2-0 overall and will host Potsdam State at 4:00 pm on Saturday afternoon. SUNY Canton fell to 0-3 overall.

In a similar start to last year’s game, the Golden Knights jumped out to a shutout lead (14-0) through the first few minutes. But unlike the contest between the two teams in 2008, Canton was able to respond thanks to the hot shooting from Tony Valentin. Each time the Knights attempted to pull away, Valentin came down and dropped in a lay up or buried a perimeter jumper, scoring a game-high 22 points on 10-for-18 shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Canton pulled back to within four points late in the half, but a pair of makes from Clarkson pushed the Knights lead to eight points at intermission.

Senior forward Elson Pickering led Clarkson with 12 points and had five rebounds, while Keith Murray (Queens, NY) contributed seven points and three rebounds. Outside of Valentin’s 22 for Canton, the Kangaroos shot just 3-for-13 from the floor with no player recording more than two points.

Valentin continued to show impressive form in the second half and some of his teammates began to chip in as well, as the Kangaroos tied the game 40-40 early in the second half. Clarkson still led by just a single point with less than 10 minutes to go, but a 3-point field goal from Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) began a 10-0 run that gave the Knights a double-digit advantage. Though Canton would challenge again, Clarkson buried free throws down the stretch to hold off the Kangaroos.

Pickering finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocks, while Hood contributed 13 points and 10 rebounds. Valentin closed with a game-high 36 points, shooting 16-for-32 from the floor.