Potsdam, NY – What could have been a meaningless game between two also-rans finishing out the schedule turned into a battle for the final playoff spot in the upcoming Liberty League Tournament, and the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team will have an opportunity to defend their 2008 Championship as they nudged in as the fourth seed with a 63-59 victory over Vassar Saturday afternoon at Alumni Gymnasium.
The Golden Knights moved to 15-10 overall and 6-8 in the Liberty League, while Vassar dropped to 10-15 and 5-9. Clarkson will face top-seeded St. Lawrence for the second year in a row in the conference tournament’s opener at 8:00 pm next Friday in Canton, NY. Despite a tie for fourth place, the Knights got the nod thanks to a sweep of third-seeded Rensselaer, the fourth overall tie-breaker.
Brian Butterworth came out hot for Vassar, making four of his first five shots in the opening seven minutes, all from the perimeter, helping the Brewers race out to an eight-point lead early on. After a timeout with about 12 minutes to go in the half, the Knights used full-court pressure for the remainder of the half, and though it didn’t create many turnovers, it somehow changed the Brewers streak, as Vassar failed to make a field goal over the final 9:38. Over the course of those final nine-plus minutes, Clarkson outscored Vassar, 19-4 with the Brewers converting nothing but free throws.
The Knights first-half scoring was spread among 10 different players, with Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) as the high scorer with five points. For Vassar, Brian Butterworth had 10 points. Vassar shot just 6-for-24 in the half and was limited to 10 rebounds, while Clarkson shot 11-for-29, but had 25 rebounds, controlling the boards with relative ease.
Vassar’s field-goal drought ended quickly in the first half, and the Brewers slowly climbed their way back into the contest, eventually tying the game at 48-48 at the 8:16 mark. Clarkson regained the lead just moments later, but once again Vassar rallied back to tie the score at 56-56 with 2:06 to go in the contest. Freshman Felix Llanos (Queens, NY) buried a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired on the next possession, and Brandon Linton was able to hold off the Brewers with several late free throws to clinch the victory.
Linton finished with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks, while Brian Salanger (Syracuse, NY) contributed 11 points. Llanos came off the bench to score 10 points. Clarkson also dominated the boards with 44 rebounds, including eight by George Koduah (Accra, Ghana), Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, NY) and Keith Murray (Queens, NY).
Butterworth and Joe Davis each finished with 16 points for Vassar, and Davis also added in eight rebounds. Caleb McGraw and Matt Nunn added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
