Geneva, NY – Staked to a 15-point lead midway through the second half, the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team suffered a long scoring drought and saw its lead evaporate as Hobart made a timely run to take another victory away from the Golden Knights, 69-66 in Liberty League action Saturday afternoon.
The Golden Knights dropped to 13-10 overall and 4-8 in Liberty League games, and Hobart improved to 8-14 and 5-6. Clarkson closes out the regular season at home next weekend against Rensselaer and Vassar.
After the first few minutes, Clarkson began to assert itself offensively with a two-minute period of strong defense and quick baskets. Trailing 9-7 with just over 13 minutes to go in the first half, the Knights went on a 13-0 run in a span of 1:52, thanks to eight points from sophomore center George Koduah (Accra, Ghana). Though the lead fell back into single digits on a couple of occasions, the Knights pushed their advantage to as many as 15 points late in the half before finally having the lead dropped to 12 points, 36-24 at the half. Hobart went the final 6:30 without making a field goal, counting on free throws to keep the first half from being a blowout.
The Knights shot 14-for-34 from the field (41.2%) while Hobart was just 7-for-30 (23.3%). Koduah finished with eight points on 4-for-5 shooting in the half, while classmate Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, NY) produced eight points and five rebounds.
In the second half, Clarkson saw its lead decrease to single digits for a brief time before going on an 8-0 run to push the lead back to 15 points, 50-35, after a 3-pointer from Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) with 11:58 to play. However, the Knights would go on a lengthy scoring drought immediately after that make, and an 18-0 by Hobart gave the Statesmen their first lead since early in the first half. Clarkson finally broke through their 7:27 scoreless streak with a jumper from Brandon Linton (Queens, NY).
Though Clarkson cut the lead to one after Linton’s jumper, the momentum was permanently altered as Hobart was able to hold off the Knights with an impressive free throw showing, going 18-for-23 in the second half from the line.
Salanger finished with 12 points, all on 3-pointers, to lead the Knights. Hood and Koduah each added 10 points, while Linton contributed 9 points and 4 assists. For Hobart, Mark Bruce scored 18, shooting 8-for-10 from the line. Adam Salzmann finished with 14, going 7-for-10 from the line.
In the first meeting between the two teams, the Statesmen also used a late rally (27-7 over the final seven minutes) to eliminate a double-digit Clarkson advantage.
