Potsdam, NY – Struggling from the perimeter for most of the game and unable to withstand the opponent’s press, the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team saw its season end Saturday afternoon with a 71-57 loss to Skidmore College in Liberty League action at Alumni Gymnasium.

The Golden Knights finished with 14-11 on the season and 7-7, just a game outside of the Liberty League post-season. Skidmore continues its campaign, and goes into the conference tournament at 16-9 overall and 9-5.

Clarkson jumped out to a 9-2 lead through the first five minutes of the contest, and maintained a seven-point advantage through the first 10 minutes, keeping the high-scoring offense of Skidmore to just seven points in the first quarter of the game. Skidmore was able to stay in the game early thanks to active hands on defense, creating numerous turnovers as the Knights tossed the ball around the perimeter.  When the ball made it inside, Clarkson was tough to stop, shooting close to 50 percent from inside the 3-point arc with 10 free throw chances. It wasn’t until an off-balance, desperation 3-pointer from Melvis Langyintuo went down with four seconds to go in the half that Skidmore would enjoy a lead, edging out the Knights 25-23 at the half.

Elson Pickering (Brooklyn, NY) led all scorers with 10 points in the first half, shooting 4-for-7 from the field, and added four rebounds. Brandon Linton (Queens, NY) also added six points and three assists. For Skidmore, Kyle Clark was 2-for-2 from the field and 2-for-2 from the line for six points.

Skidmore maintained the momentum they gained from the 3-pointer to end the half. Up by just a single point with three minutes expired from the second half, Skidmore went on a 12-3 run over the next three minutes to take a 10-point lead. After Clarkson pulled back to within seven points on a 3-pointer by Rey Jefferson (Budd Lake, NJ), Skidmore ran off eight more consecutive points to take a 15-point lead. The Knights would get back to within eight points on a couple of occasions, but couldn’t put together a sustained run.

Skidmore was able to push its advantage to double figures with five 3-pointers and a 19-for-22 performance from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Knights struggled to shoot from the outside, making the deficit difficult to overcome. After a 0-for-5 performance in the first half from the perimeter, the Knights shot only 2-for-9 in the second half.

Elson Pickering led all scorers with 15 points and added 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. Jonathan Hood (Cortlandt Manor, NY) contributed a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds, while Linton finished with 8 points, 7 assists and 2 steals. Keith Murray (Queens, NY) also added nine points.

For Skidmore Langyintuo came off the bench for a game-high 13 points in just 21 minutes, while John Mantas also added 10 points in just 21 minutes off the bench. Gerard O’Shea had 9 points and 6 steals.